


Shadow Diaries - The Ancients' Game

by AZWorld



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Confused Magnus Bane, F/F, F/M, Gen, Human Katherine Pierce, Hurt Magnus Bane, Klaus Mikaelson Has A Heart, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Multi, Possessive Alec Lightwood, Protective Elijah Mikaelson, Rape/Non-con Elements, Shadowhunter's Frightening Fall Fic Fest 2019
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2020-11-02 06:27:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 27,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20652329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AZWorld/pseuds/AZWorld
Summary: Never interfere in the games that the Ancients play... Intermixti apud veretiris nunquom quod ludes ludere ... The appearance of the new Petrova doppelgänger has stirred the Ancients into a game that has been in play for more than a thousand years. What happens when their worlds and their loved ones collide? Niklaus Mikaelson is back to claim his rightful place as King of New Orleans and he will need to break the hybrid curse that was placed on him a thousand years ago in order to win back his Throne. Katherine Pierce is not only looking to survive the deadly Game, she is playing to win and the only one she will have by her side is none other than the High Warlock of Brooklyn... Magnus Bane.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone... I have wanted to write this for a while but never seem to find the time. It’s my attempt at a crossover between two of my favourite fandoms, The Vampire Diaries and Shadowhunters.
> 
> I am definitely a Malec shipper but I also find Magnus and Katherine to be the most fascinating individual characters in each fandom, so building on their characters, I decided to dive into this story.
> 
> I will be trying to merge their worlds and mythologies. I hope you like it.
> 
> P.S This story is set from S02E09 of the Vampire Diaries (Katerina) and from just after Season 2 of Shadowhunters and I will take it from there. It also has elements of Magnus’ past from The Bane Chronicles but if you haven’t read it, no worries. 
> 
> UPDATE 27 OCTOBER 2019: Sorry guys for being scarce, I am preparing the rest of this story for NaNoWriMo so I will update more frequently after November :) Please send me some love and encouragement, your kindness and support will help me win and if I win, you get more of this story so if you like it then it is a win for you:) For now, I have updated Chapter One... I have made some heavy upgrades to this chapter so if you have already read it I would appreciate you checking it out again if you liked what you had seen before.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing from any of these fandoms. I am just going to play an Ancient Game with these characters.  
Hope you guys will like it! Please leave me a kudos and a review if you do.

** Chapter One **

* * *

** _*Fell’s Church Tomb, Mystic Falls, West Virginia – Present Day*_ **

There was a constant dripping of the dampness between the cracks in the rocky walls around her which sent grating vibrations shooting through the synapses of her entire desiccating body. The burning thirst in her throat would not let up for even a moment. There was no respite for her, not for her starving body or from her disturbed thoughts. Every fibre of her being seemed to scream for freedom, for escape, yet no sound left her cracking lips... She barely had any strength left for that. The darkness would have smothered her if her immortal body felt any need to draw breath.

_I am a vampire... I am a vampire... I am immortal... I am eternal... I need to see him..._

It was this mantra that gave her strength to keep fighting and she chanted it to herself. It kept her panic at bay. It was basically keeping her alive... If you could say that she was alive at all. She liked to think that she was. She looked like a human and walked like a human; she feared death like a human and even... loved like a human.

Katherine closed her eyes and pictured him again, like she had been doing for the past few days, or weeks... She couldn’t even tell anymore. She called his handsome face to mind as she had done constantly for nearly five hundred years. It was no longer a mere habit. It was as much a part of her as he himself. All she knew was that ever since Stephan and Damon had betrayed her and trapped her in this dank cage with the moonstone, she had done almost nothing else but call for him. Her blood sang to him, every fibre of her being tried to summon him to her side.

Using her powers to call to him had drained her energy much faster and it seemed foolish to exert herself and expedite her suffering but Katherine was strong, her will to live even stronger. She was a survivor. She knew that he would be the only being with enough magic to set her free and even though she was rotting away faster for her efforts, she did not give up on him. It had been years, centuries in fact since he had last drank her blood, since his body had been joined to hers in the sweet agony of their lovemaking but her memories of him had awakened something in her... a determination to survive, to see him again. It was a fool’s hope that any part of her could still be alive inside him after all this time, but she had nothing if not hope.

The first few days locked away in the tomb under Fell’s Church had been excruciating. She screamed constantly, on the off chance that someone would hear her and even more foolishly, that even if someone had actually heard her that they would care enough to rescue her. Her dull-as-dishwater-doppelgänger Elena had not only taken the Salvatore brothers from her but had also practically flushed all her contingency plans down the tubes.

_I hate her... I hate her!_

Katherine hissed venomously and cursed Elena. She alternated between anger and despair when she took Elena’s name.

Then the initial stages of starvation began and her entire body cried for blood, for nourishment. As time seemed to tick on and the bloodlust grew worse, her very body became her own worst enemy. The pain was indescribable and at one point, she actually became desperate enough to search the tomb for some wood that she could use as a stake to drive through her heart and end her suffering once and for all...

But then she thought of him, the spark in his kind honey-gold eyes... The blue magic he played with on his fingertips, his impish grin and his roguish charm.

_His power... His immense and unimaginable power..._It was the same power that she controlled when she held him in her arms and in her bed. His power belonged to her... _He _belonged to her.

She closed her eyes and reached for his mind. Sometimes she would draw blanks in her head because of the weakness of their connection but sometimes, she would feel a sliver of his presence.

She tried to enter his dreams, to beckon him.

_It’s time... Come to me please..._

She would call... over and over.

_The doppelgänger is here, in Mystic Falls, where it all began. Please come to me. The game has begun..._

All she would see in his dreams however, was an Angel, a Shadowhunter, with dark hair sticking up adorably in all directions and the brightest hazel eyes. His mind would calm when this boy was present and it filled her with dread and a white-hot anger.

_No!_

She fumed.

_His power is mine... He is mine!_

And finally, slowly, Katherine’s body began to shut down. One would think that this would cause her to panic but she actually welcomed the numbness pushing past the fiery pain as the flowing blood and venom in her veins steadily dried up, leaving nothing but dust in their wake and her starving organs gradually turned to stone.

It was almost a salvation... steadily oncoming oblivion... until that miserable bitch Elena showed up. She tempted Katherine with a chance at freedom, the Petrova history book and a bottle of blood which she dangled before the fallen vampire like bait.

And by god had Katherine taken the bait. She couldn’t bear the starving and the rotting away. She had gulped the morsels of nourishment offered to her and spilled the most painful secrets of her past. How she was the sacrificial lamb in an ancient tug-of-war, how she had lost her baby and how her family was slaughtered because she committed the sin of merely fighting for her right to live.

After Elena and her gallant knight Stephan had left her again in the tomb, she could do nothing else but caress the moonstone in her hand and page through the Petrova book. Her newly nourished body began shedding tears and she allowed herself to cry for the first time in centuries.

And then the painful mummifying process began all over again. But this time, she was prepared. She used the newfound strength that Elena had given her to her advantage.

After she was all cried out, she clutched her family photo to her chest and thought of her parents and her little girl. She drew strength from their memories. She called for him again. She closed her eyes and she could see his dreams again... they were hazy and clouded but she knew he was there. Their bond, though faint, though practically ancient, was still intact.

_*Flashback – London 1490*_

_Katerina buried her aching head in her hands and began to sob loudly. If anyone noticed, they gave no inclination. A young woman, down on her luck, was not an uncommon sight in the unforgiving streets of London. After being banished from her family home in Bulgaria, she had come to London with nothing more than the clothes on her back and her Slavic accented-English. She had no reasonable prospects of attracting a proper suitor or even a decent escort in such dire straits. She had sat on the sidewalk and allowed herself a moment of self-pity. Her body was cold in her sparse attire, she was stripped of the love of her family and her empty arms and full breasts screamed in agony for her baby girl. Her heart was encased in a fear of the unknown._

_“This city is a cruel mistress my dear, it will swallow your tears and still demand a usury.” _

_A man’s voice... It was soft yet firm broke through the veil of terror that seemed to blind her... His words were not spoken with a hint of kindness. It was meant to startle her, to kick-start her will to live, to survive and thrive. There was a hint of arrogance, even swagger in his baritone... it burned with a distinct fire and intoxicated like a strong whiskey. It was a voice that held secrets and promises, a voice that could very well be her undoing, her ultimate destruction._

_She looked up through the trembling haze of her tear-stained eyes to who was possibly one of the most exotic men she could have ever seen._

_He was dressed to the nines, a gentleman, a nobleman, or possibly even a Lord._

_His dark waistcoat and slacks held a rich cream shirt, tailored to perfection over a body that was hand crafted for sin. His cravat glittered gold, matching the gold trim of his black top hat but what drew Katerina in were his warm chocolate eyes. His features were Asian, but his stance and even his strong nose belied a hidden European heritage, Dutch maybe, or English._

_His petal lips began to move again. Katerina could feel his velvet voice permeate the thick fog of her grief, piercing it the way the sun’s rays pierce through grey clouds._

_“Get up my dear; this is no place for a Lady.”_

_Suddenly, fire began to pool in her belly. Just who was this man? Who was he to make assumptions about her?_

_“I am no Lady Sir. I thank you for your time but I am more than capable of taking care of myself.” _

_The man snorted in a very ungentlemanly manner._

_“I know that my dear, I was simply being polite. You could not have fooled me if you tried Little One. You certainly are no Lady. Your unfashionable and unflattering clothes are tattered, you walk the streets without a chaperone and your tears betray the fact that you do not have the constitution to survive in a city like this. Your swollen breasts and pale but glowing skin speak of the labours of childbirth yet your empty arms suggest that there was no honour in your relations with the man whose seed you sowed. There is no baby in your arms to empty your breasts and you will sooner end up in a speakeasy or a sewer before you even catch a glimpse of the illustrious company of the ton or the nobility. Oh you are certainly no Lady.” _

_Katerina felt her heart drop to her knees at the man’s judgment. Before she even had a chance to think about it she shot to her feet. She raised her hand and struck him. The sound of her slap was resounding and even stopped passers-by. The scene between them would naturally generate curiosity. A common girl striking a nobleman... Dear Lord she could be arrested!_

_Her senses returned to her, along with her fears. This man, this judgmental, arrogant nobleman could ruin her._

_Her throat constricted and her breaths became raspy._

_The man however, broke into a smile. Then without warning, he erupted into laughter. His display of merriment baffled her._

_“Well done Buttons. I didn’t think you had it in you. You may survive this cruel world yet.” _

_Katerina’s eyes widened in shock._

_He spun on his heels dramatically, his cane clicking on the ground. He adjusted his hat jauntily and took off._

_Katerina examined the colourful stranger with a mix of surprise and curiosity. There was so much that she wanted to know and even more that she was afraid to find out._

_“Are you coming Buttons? Or do want to soak up the Eau Da Sewers from your front row seat on the sidewalk?” _

_“I don’t even know you Sir... Who are you?”_

_He turned to her and Katerina could not believe her eyes. His soft brown eyes flashed gold, his pupils turned to slits._

_“Right now I am hungry, and I assume you are as well and for now my dear... That is all you need to know. If you’re brave enough to come with me little Traveller Witch, your miserable fate in this town might yet change.” _

_*London – 1491*_

_Katerina smiled shyly at her handmaidens as they brushed and adorned her hair before the full length ornate mirror. She turned and gazed in disbelief at the array of garments and dresses strewn all over her room. They were the latest designs and in some of the richest and most luxurious fabrics known to man... velvet hand stitched from Turkey, raw silks from India and charmeuse imported from Italy in such vibrant colours that her eyes were yet to adjust. She still could not comprehend that man could forge such hues. Magnus had truly outdone himself. He himself was a fashion icon, surely the woman that graced his arm could be nothing less, but it was not his reputation among the ton that had Katerina smiling warmly. Ever since the first time she had laid eyes on him, he had enamoured her like no other. Magnus’ home as well as his heart and been thrown open to her and he had demanded nothing in return. He was not like other noblemen, who extracted a price for taking in a helpless and attractive woman, especially one who had already been deflowered and soiled by childbirth. This past year with Magnus had been surreal. He had turned her into a proper Englishwoman. He taught her how to speak with the proper English accent, how to dress, how to carry herself and how to navigate the social labyrinth of the ton. She could not have been more grateful. In a way however, as much as he had tried to teach her about the harsh realities of the world, his warmth towards her had also fed into her naiveté. She had not only learnt that cruelty existed but also kindness, that men like Magnus could show her mercy as well as magic. It was this naiveté that would prove to be her undoing when she would place her trust in the Mikaelsons. _

_Magnus had never shied away from showing her his magic from the first time they had met. When she had expressed concern that he could be branded a witch and executed he scoffed playfully. Katerina could tell from his arrogance that his very aura radiated power. He wasn’t some backdoor tarot reader who slaughtered chickens and danced naked in the woods, Magnus was the real deal. He was not afraid of death because he had literally been raised in hell and he had told her as much but most of his words were beyond her comprehension, beyond the limits of her imagination. He was beyond her, beyond her reach and yet something in her heart dared to hope that she could one day call him her own... That she could call his powers her own..._

_She selected a dress and a corset with a playful smile and handed them to her handmaidens so that they could dress her. As they laced her corset she smiled thinking about the nickname that Magnus had given her when they had first met... Buttons..._

_“Why do you call me that? It makes me sound like a child!” Katerina had wiggled her nose in distaste petulantly, ironically, like a child. _

_“Which name? Katherine Pierce? I told you, when you start out in a new place you should have a new identity Katerina. Besides, you’re Katherine now, only I get to call you Katerina.”_

_Magnus had kissed her chastely on her cheek._

_“I meant Buttons you cad!” She huffed._

_Magnus laughed at her tantrum, “Oh Little One how you amuse me.”_

_“Is it because of my nose? Or because you find me girlish?” Katerina asked. As much as she had appreciated how Magnus went out of his way to make her feel like an innocent, considering that he was trying to help her overcome the unbearable loss of her child, she didn’t want him to see her as a girl. She was a woman no matter how much he treated her otherwise._

_“If I told you, you would pout more” he laughed. His rich whiskey voice tinged with amusement and undisguised affection._

_“Tell me” she had insisted and she could tell by the glint in his eyes that he would not refuse her anything. He never could._

_“It was because of what you were wearing when we first met. Most women wear lace dresses with corsets underneath tightened to the point that their lungs and waists constrict but you wore an old-fashioned dress with no corset that was held together by buttons. I almost burst out laughing and I would have mocked you ungraciously if it weren’t for your tears. I can forgive many sins my dear but crimes of fashion are where I draw the line.” _

_“Magnus!” She cried in mock offence before she threw a cushion playfully at his head. _

_Their friendship was certainly unconventional for the time but they found that they could be themselves with no one else but each other. Yet there was a lot that Magnus hid from her, like why he had taken her in without asking for anything in return, why he had held her as she cried every time she emptied her breasts of milk that she could have been feeding to her little girl, how he would sometimes help her lace her unforgiving corset to help her narrow her hips and get her pre-natal figure back and how he helped her get back on her feet. _

_Tonight though, was not a time for reminiscing. She wanted to look to the future and not at the past. Irrespective of his reasons, Magnus had helped her, had been there for her and she wanted to do something for him tonight for a change._

_She most of the day with the household servants preparing their mansion for him and had spent all evening painstakingly cooking a full seven course meal for him, from starters to dessert and brandy. She had prepared his favourite steak and left strict instructions on how it was to be grilled._

_Once the food was prepared and the staff could put in the final touches before serving, she had gone to her chambers to bathe and prepare herself._

_She got her handmaidens to dress her for him... Tonight she would give herself to him. Nothing would make her happier than to be his._

_Magnus had come home exactly when he had promised. He had hung his coat and had walked into his drawing room for a drink._

_Katerina had heard the rumble of his carriage arrive. She followed him to the drawing room and slipped in behind him as he stared morosely into the lit fire. She watched him from behind. She marvelled at his strong shoulders, the very shoulders that had carried her through the worse moments of her life. She ran her eyes lustfully over his bulging biceps which flexed as he lifted the glass to his lips and she admire the way the flames flickered and highlighted his soft, dark hair. Magnus truly was a fine specimen of a man._

_She remembered how his lifestyle had shocked her initially. She would watch as he paraded men and women in and out of his bed. She had never experienced such debauchery back home. She hadn’t even known that men and women could lie with the same sex or that many bodies could writhe together in an orgy. Such freedom and candour were completely foreign to her yet somehow, it only served to increase her desire for him. She was certainly not his first, nor was he hers... But she wanted to be his last._

_She came closer, the silks of her dress ruffling as she pressed herself against his back and looped her arms around his waist without announcing herself. She could feel this rock solid abs brace against her palms and the sheer hardness of him had her blood racing with fire. She could feel her heart beat into his back._

_Magnus smiled as he felt her behind him and slowly loosened her grip so that he could turn around and face her._

_“Good evening to you too Little One” His face was like crystal. It shone with a unique splendour. It reflected the chiselled bone structure of nobility yet his countenance always held softness and an expression of kindness for her... only for her._

_Katerina could wait no longer and before her nerves could get the better of her, she came closer and pressed her lips to his for the very first time. It was as if their lips clashing had stoked a fire between them. His lips were smooth and ripe and tasted like the expensive brandy he had been drinking. This combined with his signature scent of leather, sandalwood and an inexplicable hint of vanilla was intoxicating. Katerina closed her eyes and lost herself to the heady sensation, drinking in her fill of the glorious Warlock in her arms._

_She felt him stiffen in shock at the initial contact of their lips and she felt his muscles tighten as he tried to find a way to resist. She could feel that she had taken him by surprise. _

_For all of Magnus’ experience, he couldn’t believe that he had read the signs wrong. _

_Yes Katerina was a beautiful woman. No! Not just beautiful, he thought she was utterly magnificent but she was not for him._

_He knew that any man she chose would have to have been born under a special star. She would make his life and destiny, but Magnus knew viscerally that he was not that man. Katerina did not know the truth, he had not taken her in because he was selfless, quite the opposite in fact. He had taken her in to ease the burden of his guilty conscience, to right the wrongs done to Tatia five hundred years before. Katerina would help him right these wrongs. He could save her, unlike Tatia who died terrified and helpless. He could use her to undo all the injustices brought on by the Hybrid Curse which had killed Tatia and had sired him in the first place. _

_All his plans though, suddenly seemed to evaporate into the ether as Katerina pressed her warm, supple body into his and he could feel himself give in to her ministrations, his body melting into her arms like candlewax. Her perfumed tresses hung loose and he could feel himself running his fingers through her silken tendrils as if he weren’t in control of his own body._

_Her breaths became short and laboured and her breasts strained against her corset. Her breasts so bountiful they almost spilled over her top. She was an angel. A fallen angel here with her arms wrapped around him, ready to drag him straight back to hell._

_She reached for his top button and Magnus forced himself to pry her soft hands off his chest. He pulled himself out of her arms and backed away to the other end of the room as if she had scalded him._

_He felt his heart sink when he saw the pain in her eyes. He hadn’t meant to insult her._

_“I am sorry... Forgive me my Lord” She whispered as she reverted to formality, trying to hide the tremor in her voice. “I... I thought.... It’s just that... You have been so kind to me...” _

_“And you thought this is how you would repay me? Do you really think so little of me?” Magnus could not help it, it stung that she not only thought so lowly of herself but of him as well. “And ‘my Lord’? Really Kath? I am Magnus... Your Magnus...” _

_“Repay you? It’s not like that!” She felt her emotions burst out of her cracked heart. “This... means something... You... You mean something...” She wanted to tell him that he meant everything, but the words died on her lips, the very lips that were caressing his just a few seconds ago and they were now cold and bereft of his touch._

_“You are not some common streetwalker Buttons. We have worked too hard to let that happen. Always remember, sex is your weapon, not your obligation. It’s your gift, never squander it on someone undeserving.” _

_“You are not undeserving Magnus!” Katerina shook her head in denial. The fact that he was so self-deprecating... It only strengthened her resolve to prove to him that he was the only man truly worthy of her._

_“I am especially undeserving Little One...” His voice lowered to a gentle whisper, the lower register was meant to placate her but it was also tinged with defeat._

_“I took you in because you are a mirror image of injustices long past...” _

_Katerina felt her heart stop. What was Magnus not telling her? What past? Whose past? Why was he always so cryptic?_

_Then it hit her like a boulder, crushing her bones into her chest, the jagged edges and splinters piercing her bleeding heart._

_“Who was she?” She asked bravely but she knew that she would not want to know the answer. It was too late to swallow the words back in though, the genie was already out of the lamp._

_Magnus felt his shoulders slump. A breath he had not realised he was holding squeezed out of his lungs as if it had been caged in there for centuries. He felt his legs buckle and he leaned into the nearby couch for support. He could barely keep himself upright. He fell back onto the couch before sitting up and burying his head in his hands._

_“Who was she?” Katerina asked again. This time, her voice held more conviction, more anger. She was bracing for a fight. She wanted to pry the truth out of him. From the moment she realised her feelings for him she had realised that there was an invisible but powerful barrier between them. She needed to know whose ghost was so tangible between them that she was powerful enough to keep them apart. She didn’t have to wait long though; she would not have to pry it out of him any longer. She hadn’t realised that he needed to talk as much as she needed to listen..._

_“Tatia... Her name was Tatia”_

_“Do you love her?” Her heart seemed to tighten and coil like a snake in her chest. She had barely batted her lashes when she had seen him tangled in his sheets with numerous other men and women. She hadn’t cared because deep down, she knew that these trysts had meant nothing.... But the way he had said Tatia’s name, like a whispered prayer, was more intimate than if he had physically stroked Tatia in Katerina’s presence._

_“I have never met her Little One... She died hundreds of years before I was born.”_

_This confused Katerina. If Magnus had never met her, why did it feel like she was a living, breathing entity between them?_

_Magnus elaborated before she could even form her next coherent thought. He knew what she must have been thinking._

_Pain marred his exotic features, his glamoured brown eyes slowly flaming into liquid gold. He ran his hands through his short, soft hair, roughly tugging at it._

_“Tatia was a mirror image of you Little One. You are a magical marvel, a doppelgänger. Tatia had been sacrificed to my father, the Greater Demon Asmodeus to give him enough power to sire me. Greater Demons cannot have children, or at least, their children aren’t long for this world. A witch in Tatia’s village named Esther and her powerful friend; the Bennett witch Ayana summoned my father to create the world’s first vampires. Esther wanted her children to become immortal and only my father had enough power to make it happen. When he laid eyes on the beautiful Tatia he had realised that she was doppelgänger of Amara... Who a thousand years ago, became the world’s first immortal woman. Such a sacrifice in his honour and in honour of his heir would have been a rare gift to my father. He promised Esther and Ayana that he would give them the power necessary to turn Esther’s children into the original vampires if Esther would sacrifice the innocent Tatia in the name of his heir... Me...”_

_Katherine forgot how to draw breath as she listened, totally enraptured. Magnus was wound so tight he looked like he could snap at any second._

_“I would be born centuries later, but my life stands on the burden of her sacrifice Little One... I see the terror in her eyes in my dreams; I can hear her screams echoing through centuries of my life. Tatia died so that I could be born, so that I could live. My life is from her, my powers are from her. I couldn’t save her, but I can protect you and do right by you Little One... This is my penance...” _

_Magnus felt his eyes fill up. As he unburdened himself at Katerina’s alter he felt all his strength being drained from his body along with his confession. He fell back onto the couch as tremors shook his frame._

_Katerina was suddenly terrified. She had never seen him so shaken. She bounded forward towards him and in no time, she was in front of him. She took him by his shoulders and pulled him into her arms. He fell limply into her embrace... Like a rag doll. He would not stop shaking._

_“Oh My Sorcerer!” This was the first time she ever called him that..._

_She ran her one hand soothingly over his shoulders while the other massaged the soft hair at the back of his head._

_“I still love you Mags... This changes nothing...” She tried to reassure him._

_Magnus scoffed in derision._

_“This is not love Buttons, this is appreciation. Tell me you love me when you’re independent and free. You don’t love me; you only think that you do. I am not someone that can be loved.” He buried his face into her shoulders and he tried not to let the tears fall._

_I broke Katerina’s heart to hear him speak this way. He had spent so much time showing her that she was worth something, only for her to realise that he carried nothing but self-hatred inside._

_“No matter my circumstances My Sorcerer, my feelings will always remain the same... I will do anything to prove it to you...” _

_“Anything?” Magnus asked hesitantly. He sounded so small, almost child-like. _

_“Anything My Sorcerer...” said Katerina with conviction._

_Magnus took a deep breath._

_“Then all I want from you is a promise... For everything that we have been through, everything that you feel I have done for you... All I want in exchange is a promise.”_

_Katerina smiled as he pulled back to look at her and she could see his bright eyes warm again._

_“I can do that Mags... I promise you the world... My World...”_

_“No Little One... I don’t want the World... What I ask of you is infinitely harder to give...” _

_Katerina’s brows furrowed. _

_Magnus took another deep breath and powered through..._

_“There will come a day... maybe soon, maybe much later... that I may return to you a broken man. I will have no where else to turn and no one I can share my vulnerabilities with. I may come to you completely shattered, seeking solace and comfort. Promise me Little One, that you will shelter me, that you will give me your warm embrace and that you will nurture me and care for me. That’s what I need from you... I just need the assurance that no matter what happens, I have a home in your arms and that I can take comfort knowing that somewhere out in this great vast world, Someone is out there for me... Always..._

_Katerina felt her eyes fill up. It was a huge promise to make to anyone, a promise that would normally take work and commitment. Then she realised, it would only be work to her if she was making this promise to a stranger. This promise to the man she loved was an act of devotion... It would not be difficult promise for her to keep at all... Not for him. If she thought of it as a commitment it seemed daunting but as she began thinking of it as proof of her love, suddenly it became the easiest promise in the world._

_She smiled and she gathered him possessively into her arms again. _

_She pressed her moist lips to his ears and whispered soothingly..._

_“I promise My Sorcerer... You will always have a place at my side, in my arms and in my heart...”_

_Magnus smiled and surrendered to her caresses._

_*End Flashback*_

Katherine tried to suck in as much of the stale tomb air into her mummifying lungs as she could. With the last remnants of her strength, she ripped her daylight necklace from her neck and she tapped into his magic. She was nowhere near powerful enough to control such demonic power but she used his magic to transport her necklace and the moonstone to him. She had no need for the daylight necklace in this forsaken tomb. There was no daylight in here. There was no day, no night, no life and no time. The necklace would serve her better in his hands. She also knew her strength would not hold out much longer and it was imperative that the moonstone be hidden. It was her last hope in the Game... well... her last hope if the Magnus himself did not throw in his lot with her. They were calling cards to him, and a sign that she still trusted him with her life and her most precious keepsake.

With the last of her fading strength, she closed her eyes and pictured Elena, in all her lively glory, with her human blood coursing through her veins and her beating heart in her chest... She focused on showing Elena to Magnus, Elena as she had seen her.

_Please..._ she begged.

_She is here, the doppelgänger_ _is here and she is alive... Please come to me..._

_Magnus please come to me ...please Mags... I need you like I have never needed anyone before... Please my Sorcerer..._

The great Katerina Petrova finally came undone and she prayed to Gods she no longer believed in to bring the Warlock to her... _Her _Warlock to her... She could not succumb to the darkness just yet...

* * *

** _*New Orleans – Present Day*_ **

There was blood everywhere. It was impossible to tell the colour of the room anymore but he was nowhere near done with Marcel.

The Vampire King of New Orleans, Marcel Gerard was at his mercy. Sure torturing him and bleeding the Vervain out of his system so that he could finally compel him was not the best plan or the most fool proof plan, but an unexpected opportunity to get Marcel alone had presented itself and Niklaus Mikaelson was not one to pass up such rare chances. Only Original Vampires like Niklaus and his family members could compel other vampires and Niklaus needed Marcel under his spell before his cronies caught on and came looking for them.

He felt the tell tale _whoosh_ of an incoming vampire but he barely flinched. He could sense his big brother anywhere.

“What news from Mystic Falls brother? Did your mission go well? Have you confirmed that Elena is the doppelgänger?” Klaus smiled before he rammed the pitchfork into Marcel’s bloody torso once more. The younger vampire groaned loudly, too weak for now to scream anymore.

Niklaus quickly bit into his wrist and fed Marcel more of his blood, healing him just enough to stave off death, but rapidly enough so that the torture could continue.

His elder brother Elijah watched him slice Marcel’s arms without moving.

“It’s confirmed brother. I have seen her myself. She is exquisite. Katerina and Tatia’s doppelgänger.”

“Elena Gilbert!” Niklaus shouted her name to the heavens and laughed manically. After a thousand years of being chained to his vampire half he was now ready to let his werewolf side roam free.

His bones had first shattered a thousand years ago, the pain so immense that it echoed in him to this very day. The day he made his first kill as a vampire and triggered his werewolf side would forever be branded in Niklaus’ memory. It was the day he realised that he was not his father’s son, a fact that he both mourned and celebrated. He had hated his ‘father’ Mikael but he had loved his siblings to death. Losing his youngest brother Henrik had destroyed him. Henrik’s death was what had caused their mother to make a deal with the devil Asmodeus in the first place.

_*Flashback – Mystic Falls 10th Century*_

_Niklaus held the bloody body of his little brother Henrik and cried pitifully. His siblings gathered around him and the boy’s body. Rebekah was caressing the little boy’s head with shaky fingers for want of something to do. Kol, still barely a man, clutched his sister. Finn stood by their mother Esther as she mechanically prepared the pentagram to summon Asmodeus, the Prince of Hell. Only Niklaus’ big brother Elijah placed a steadying hand on his shoulder, only Elijah thought to offer him comfort even though he was barely keeping himself together. Niklaus leaned into his big brother, he needed him now more than ever. _

_In his darkest moment, Elijah thought of Tatia, the woman he loved. Thinking of her gave him strength to be there for his siblings as he watched them break one by one. He called he to mind, Tatia, with her warm eyes and kind voice._

_Mikael, their father suddenly marched into the clearing and unceremoniously pried Henrik out of Niklaus’ arms. _

_“Father!” called Elijah indignantly. Niklaus sobbed harder as he felt the burden of his little brother’s body being lifted from his arms. _

_Elijah was positively disgusted by his father’s behaviour. It was in that moment that he realised that he was actually capable of hating the man who sired him. Even when Mikael had lost a child he could not let go of his inexplicable hatred for Niklaus._

_Esther gathered them around the pentagram and Ayana lit the pentagram on fire. _

_“Listen closely my children and make sure you do exactly as I say.” Esther’s voice carried over the howling wind that threatened to displace them. Esther knew that she was dabbling in unnatural black magic and nature always retaliated somehow. They were deep in the woods to hide them from prying eyes. Ayana then cast a spell to keep the elements at bay and to protect them. She was there to help with the ritual._

_Esther faced her children once again. “The only chance I have of bringing your brother back is to summon the Demonic Prince of Hell, Asmodeus...” _

_She tried to talk to them but was interrupted by a protesting Elijah._

_“Mother it is a sin! You can’t!” _

_Mikael placed Henrik’s body at the foot of the pentagram and he bounded across towards the young man and struck Elijah harshly across his face._

_Niklaus screamed. He could stand his own insult but he would never tolerate their father hurting Elijah._

_He lunged for Mikael but Elijah pulled him back. He held his little brother Niklaus close. He knew they were all grieving and emotions were high._

_“Your mother will do whatever it takes to bring Henrik back!” Mikael spit out manically._

_Esther turned away from him and tried to gain back some semblance of control._

_Ayana began chanting while Esther explained._

_“Asmodeus is the most powerful Prince of Hell. I have encountered him before. No matter what I say or what he asks, do not speak to him and do not turn away from him. You will suffer a fate worse than death. Promise me! I cannot lose anyone of you after Henrik tonight! Swear it on my life!”_

_The children all looked at the desperation in their mother’s eyes as her stoic facade began to crack._

_As usual, it was Elijah who spoke for his siblings, Elijah who was always taking the responsibility and the burden for them._

_“I promise I will make sure the others stay silent Mother, but for the love of Odin I swear on my life and mine alone that if that Demon dares to harm the people I love I will not hesitate to do whatever it takes to protect them.”_

_Esther took that minute to caress Elijah’s cheek lovingly. “I will not let it come to that Elijah.” Finn may have been her eldest son but her stubborn and moral Elijah would always be her pride and joy._

_Esther and Ayana began the chant as the forest grew darker. The moon was already high in the sky yet somehow the blackness seemed to deepen. Niklaus was positive that if it weren’t for the fire of the pentagram before them they would not have been able to see their own hands before their eyes._

_Suddenly the pentagram flared and the fire seemed to reach for the heavens._

_“The blackness will blanket us from the outside world my children, Ayana has made sure that this fire will not be seen by any other humans.” Esther tried to keep her voice level, but even she could feel the fear capture her heart in a vice grip. She turned to the body of her baby boy and she felt the terror evaporate through her skin and a phantom strength emanate from her very womb. As a mother, she would give her life to Asmodeus if it meant bringing Henrik back and protecting her other children._

_The fire began to smog and soon, the thick fog began to take the shape of a man. They could see his silhouette but his features were distorted at first. The first distinct features of his to light up were a pair of molten gold cat eyes. _

_Niklaus truly had no idea what he had been expecting. Horns maybe? Fiery red eyes? A forked tongue? Razor sharp teeth? The Demon that stood before him was all man. Somehow, this made him all the more terrifying, that pure evil could wear such a benign and handsome face. Everything about Asmodeus screamed ‘royalty’, from his stature to the power that seemed to infuse the air around him with an unsettling sort of magic._

_“Esther my child...” He smiled fondly. His voice echoed from the realm of Edom, his attempt at pleasantries throwing his audience off-balance._

_Esther tried not to let her surprise show but Asmodeus was not known as the most powerful Prince of Hell for naught. It was not just his magic that he relied upon to rule his kingdom. He prided himself on reading his subjects as well._

_“You invoke my name, you perform feats in my honour and you make sacrifices at my altar. Did you really think I would not acknowledge you child?” He asked fondly._

_Esther seemed to preen under his affection. The others seemed to almost sag in relief at Asmodeus’ kind mannerisms. Only Elijah remained sceptical. He had heard too many stories from superstitious people in the village about the consequences of summoning evil and here they were literally making a deal with the devil._

_Asmodeus smiled fondly, running his eyes over each one of them in turn, drinking them in. Nothing was said for a few tense seconds until his eyes landed on the body of their little brother._

_“Oh Esther...” He sighed softly, trying to soothe the grieving mother with his words as he clutched his chest dramatically to depict shock._

_Elijah wasn’t buying it. With Asmodeus’ reputation, he suspected that he knew far more than he let on. Nanna, the village nurse would tell him how demons, Asmodeus especially, could reach into people’s minds and souls and literally grab hold of their most deep seeded fears, insecurities and pain. He could control minds and manipulate memories. Asmodeus would have relished their cries at Henrik’s death all the way in Edom. Elijah felt his throat constrict. He wanted to tell the repulsive Demon with the Angel’s face to stop with the theatrics but he bit his tongue._

_“Help me bring him back... Please O Great Asmodeus...” Esther began to sob. Then she fell to her knees and beseeched him. “Please my father...” _

_Elijah hoped that he never had to witness such a terrible sight again. He never wanted to see anyone in his family beg anyone for anything the way his mother was doing in that moment._

_Esther wept and heaved, hoping that her cries could move Asmodeus._

_She had called him father... the sentiment sat heavily on Asmodeus’ chest. He knew her pain better than anyone in the Universe. He had buried far too many children. He yearned for a healthy child of his own... An heir... Someone to whom he could be a true father instead of the worshippers and demons he fostered._

_The Demon stood before her, completely expressionless but Elijah sensed turmoil in him and just when Elijah thought that this damning meeting could finally draw to a close, his world shattered before him..._

_“Elijah? Are you there?” A soft voice was heard rustling from the bushes._

_“By Odin! A fire! Elijah! Elijah can you hear me? I saw your horse Valhalla tied to a tree a few yards back. Elijah!” Her voice got louder as she drew nearer... _

_Tatia..._

_“Impossible!” Esther cried. “How can the village belle see the fire?” _

_Tatia came into view, rushing forward. Her locks fell in loose braids down her back, her skin flushed from the run. _

_Niklaus felt his breath leave him at the sight of the woman he loved. Yes she had chosen Elijah, but his heart still beat for her._

_“Tatia?! What are you doing here?” Elijah called in a panic, forgetting his promise that he had made to his mother._

_It was too late... Asmodeus had seen her._

_“By Satan himself! The doppelgänger!” Asmodeus could not contain his glee._

_“Doppelgänger?” It was Ayana who spoke this time. Ayana was a powerful witch with a powerful ancestry that dated back to the creator of the Immortality spell itself, the progenitor of her line was Qetsiyah. She knew full well the legend of Amara, Silas and Qetsiyah._

_Ayana turned to Tatia in shock. She had never laid eyes on Amara, how was she to know that they had fostered the Doppelgänger herself in their village? The Doppelgänger was nature’s answer to the immortality spell cast a thousand years prior. Tatia was unknowingly the key to everything._

_The innocent Tatia made a beeline for Elijah and fell into his arms._

_“She can see the fire because she is magical... Nature’s answer to her enemies... The Doppelgänger! Ah what a gift you bring me Esther my child!” _

_“No!” Elijah shouted without thinking as he drew Tatia further into his body. He would die before he sacrificed her to this devil._

_Asmodeus turned his gaze upon Elijah. He did not seem upset at all by the young man’s outburst. His eyes never left Elijah but he addressed Esther instead._

_“Give me the girl Esther; sacrifice her in my name and in the name of my unborn child. I will not raise Henrik for you. His soul is with the Angels but I promise I will make your remaining children invincible... Immortal..._

_“No!” Elijah screamed as his father Mikael pried Tatia out of his arms._

_“Please! I have a child! I am all she has please!” Tatia begged._

_Niklaus dived at Mikael but Asmodeus lifted his hands and paralysed Elijah and Niklaus using his powers._

_Tatia screamed and screamed but Ayana’s magic suppressed any of her cries for help. Her pleas could not even reach the branches of the trees above her._

_Asmodeus took out a Keris knife... Caressing it like the ceremonial athame he intended it to be._

_Esther took the knife from him without hesitation._

_“Mother please!” Elijah shouted. “You promised that the people I love would not be harmed! Please Mother!” Damn his promise to her! He would not stand by and watch Asmodeus take away the woman he loved but unfortunately, that was exactly what Elijah was cursed to witness._

_Mikael held Tatia fast. In her last moments, she turned to Elijah, the fire of the Pentagram making her eyes glisten as her tears fell. _

_“I love you Elijah...” _

_Those were her last words before Esther slit her throat._

_“No please no! Tatia! Tatia!” Elijah and Niklaus screamed as if someone was prying their souls out of their bodies. They screamed until they tore holes in their throats and their bodies went numb in shock._

_Ayana chanted as Esther began collecting Tatia’s blood in a clay pot._

_“Collect every last drop my daughter...Preserve the blood, you have no idea of the power of the blood of the doppelgänger. It’s magical properties means that it will not congeal. It can be used in all types of rituals.” Asmodeus smiled._

_Mikael placed Tatia’s body in the Pentagram as Ayana chanted, extolling the virtues of Asmodeus and praising his heir. He would be the most powerful warlock, with the powers of hell in his fists. He would be immortal, a culmination of his father’s most cherished dream. He would be the most beautiful face of death and destruction and he will raise Asmodeus’ Kingdom to the unprecedented heights. This was the boon that they granted Asmodeus’ heir._

_Asmodeus caressed Tatia’s pale, cold cheeks. In life she was beautiful... In death she was absolutely sublime. He had finally found a way to sire an heir and it was all because of Esther._

_He began to chant, creating the Vampire Immortality Spell. He would keep his promise to Esther._

_“My daughter, each of you must drink the blood of the Doppelgänger mixed with the ash of a White Oak Tree. Each of you must then be killed and the spell will be complete. The Keris we have used was forged from the fires of a burning White Oak and carries the properties of immortality.” The White Oak was a symbol of eternity and would bind their life forces to immortality. Asmodeus lifted his hands and summoned the Keris from Esther back to him. _

_Asmodeus grinned as he thought of the consequences of creating the vampires. There was always a catch when dealing with a Greater Demon. He did not tell Esther that she would create Nature’s ultimate abominations. They would water the Earth with the blood of innocents and spread their demonism like a disease to those they sired. He couldn’t care less though... He would soon have his beautiful baby in his arms and all of hell would pay homage to his heir, his perfect little prince._

_The Great Demon disappeared with the bodies of Henrik and Tatia... Asmodeus would not to be seen again on earth for another few centuries, until he would return to what was now Indonesia to hold a beautiful woman in his arms and plant his demon seed inside her._

_Esther quickly broke the branches of the White Oak tree. It had been plentiful at the time, a symbol not only of immortality but bounty as well. This tree would bless her children._

_Ayana chanted while Esther used the fire of the pentagram left behind by Asmodeus to burn the White Oak into ash._

_She mixed the ash into the blood of Tatia and fed each one of her family members in turn._

_Mikael, her only practicing son Kol and Finn drank eagerly. The idea of drinking blood had stayed Rebekah but Mikael was able to force her. Esther felt her heart break as she brought the blood to the lips of her beloved sons Niklaus and Elijah. Niklaus was too numb to refuse but Elijah had to be held down by Mikael as Esther force fed him the blood of the woman he loved. _

_When it was done, Esther saw her son break. Yes she was about to make them all immortal so that they could be together forever, but it was in that moment that she had lost her precious boy, her Elijah, forever..._

_*End Flashback*_

Marcel’s groans forced Niklaus and Elijah back to the present.

“Klaus... Why?” Marcel asked weakly, using Niklaus’ given name.

“Enough Brother...” Elijah cautioned, placing a hand on Klaus’ shoulders.

“You have loved him like a son... How much more is he to suffer?”

Klaus looked upon the man that he had adopted and loved from the time he had been a boy. He had always felt that they were kindred spirits.

Klaus lifted Marcel’s limp head and forced the semi-conscious vampire to meet his gaze.

“Tell me about your secret weapon Marcel... How are you controlling the witches?” Klaus’ voice was barely a whisper but the effect had a greater impact on Marcel than if he had shouted and burst his eardrums.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” he was lying and they both knew it. He just refused to give his sire the satisfaction of caving in to his demands. “Never give in remember? One of the most important lessons that you had taught me.”

Klaus growled with the ferocity of an animal as he rammed the pitchfork into Marcel’s chest again.

“Niklaus!” shouted Elijah.

Klaus yanked the pitchfork out and quickly bit into his wrist and fed Marcel once again. He put his nose to the blood dripping from the pitchfork. He could still catch the faint scent of Vervain, the herb that Marcel had ingested to resist Klaus’ compulsion.

“You’re quite right Brother... I did love him like a son. It would be foolhardy of me to deny that a part of me bleeds along with him but I will make sure that he is compelled and that he tells me about his secret weapon. I am the rightful king of New Orleans and I will make sure to take back everything that was stolen from me and our family.”

Elijah sighed and turned to go.

“What was it like?” Klaus asked suddenly, stopping him in his tracks. Klaus’ voice, so filled with anger and resentment a few seconds before was now lulled into a wistful hum.

“What was what like Niklaus?”

“Seeing her... seeing Tatia again...”

Elijah could feel a faint sting in his eyes. Yes he had pretended to be unaffected when he first laid eyes on Elena but he could feel his chest cracking open and he could feel his entire body go numb as he saw the pure terror in her eyes. A thousand years and the pain of losing Tatia had not dulled. And now, to have come face to face with her doppelgänger, it was one of nature’s cruellest tricks.

“Mother had been wrong Niklaus...” said Elijah. To anyone who didn’t know him, this mask of indifference was firmly in place, his walls impenetrable. Only his brother could sense the crack in his armour, could feel the phantom cuts of his broken soul.

“Mother had been wrong about a lot of things Elijah; you will have to be more specific.” Klaus could feel the heat creep back into his voice. As much as Elijah was suffering he could at least find solace in the fact that he got to at least see an illusion of Tatia. Klaus would be the one who would have to watch her die and relive the horror of her screams when he drains the Gilbert girl of every last drop of blood from her body.

“The true curse was to see her before me and know that she is just as doomed now as she had been a thousand years ago. The curse is me having to watch her suffer, scream and die to save my family and me being powerless to protect her once again.”

Klaus winced at his words. He had lied to Elijah. He needed to desperately break the Hybrid Curse and release his werewolf side so that he could take New Orleans back for himself. He wanted to be king but he promised himself that he would look out for his family. He had already killed his father Mikael but Elijah, who had been daggered and in a cursed sleep still thought that Mikael wanted to kill them and was hunting them and the only way to stop him was to break the curse that their mother had put on Klaus when she had used the last remnants of Tatia’s blood to bind Klaus’ werewolf half.

“I am sorry Elijah... Curse or no curse... promise me that you will see this through.”

Marcel groaned once again, interrupting the brothers’ moment.

Klaus’ blood had been enough to save Marcel’s organs so that he wouldn’t die but Klaus deliberately fed him less so that his wounds could remain open and he would bleed out.

Klaus took a sniff again and he could sense that Marcel’s blood was finally clean of Vervain. He smirked and lifted Marcel’s head to meet his eyes once again. His pupils began to contract and dilate as he weaved a compulsion. He could see Marcel’s pained expression blank as he stared at his sire, completely mesmerised.

“You will tell no one about what happened here. If anyone asks, we had taken an extended stroll through the Bayou and hunted alligators for sport. Now tell me... What is your secret weapon?”

“A witch... her name is Davina. She lives over by the abandoned Hartland Church. She can sense whenever the witches do magic. She is extremely powerful.” Marcel’s voice was dull and expressionless, clear of any deception and farce.

Klaus smiled as Elijah rolled his eyes in exasperation.

“And why would a witch help you to screw over her own people?” Even Klaus had to admit, he was intrigued.

“I had saved her from being sacrificed in a harvest ritual where the witches were going to kill her. I have taken her in and she is extremely grateful. She considers me family.” Marcel’s flat voice only served to thrill Klaus more.

“Well then my dear Marcel... Let’s see how far her appreciation extends. I wonder if she will be willing to help me if I threaten to roast you like a marshmallow”

“You’re enjoying this way too much... You do realise that?” Elijah couldn’t help it, as ruthless as his brother was, he couldn’t help smile fondly at his antics.

“Good... I am going to untie you now Marcel, so that you can rest up and heal. Do not think of leaving this room.”

Klaus used his compulsion to imprison Marcel so that he would have no will to escape.

“We have everything we need Brother! Davina can help us take back New Orleans and, as a witch, she can help us to perform the ritual to break the curse.” He laughed happily as he clapped Elijah playfully on the back.

“It was always a bad habit of yours to prematurely count your chickens brother. We still need to secure the Doppelgänger, the missing moonstone; a vampire and a werewolf and werewolves are extremely hard to come by.”

“Oh my dear Elijah, how you underestimate the resourcefulness of our dear Katerina. She has been running from me for over 500 years. Surely she is tired of being afraid for her life. She will gather the rest of the ingredients because she will need a bargaining chip for me to show mercy on her for betraying me. Let’s not go to Mystic Falls just yet. Give her time to get everything together. Then I will decide whether or not to kill her once she outlives her usefulness.” Klaus yawned and stretched in exaggerated exhaustion.

“You are placing an awful lot of faith in a woman who is notorious for treachery.” Elijah could not believe his brother sometimes.

“She can’t run forever.” Klaus shrugged.

“Just like how we can’t run from Mikael forever. Niklaus this is not a game. We need to break this curse to protect ourselves and our family.”

“Oh Brother but it is a game! It is our favourite game, the Ancients’ Game. Katerina and Marcel will give us everything we need. There are strings that need to be pulled; pieces that need to be put into play and moves that need to be strategised but if we pull too hard we could end up breaking or worse, losing. The Game is delicate and nuanced. I say... Let the Game begin...”

Klaus, in all his eagerness to play, had not considered one key detail. This was Katerina Petrova he was talking about. She had always been a woman with plans and endless contingencies and she could play this game just as well as he could. Klaus could not possibly fathom at this early stage that Katherine already had an ace up her sleeve... Her ability to control and compel the High Warlock of Brooklyn, the most powerful Warlock in the world...

Magnus Bane...

The beloved son and heir of the Greater Demon Asmodeus himself...

* * *

** _*Brooklyn, New York - Present Day*_ **

He tossed and turned in his empty bed. Alec, his boyfriend, was at the New York Shadowhunter Institute working late... again.

It had been like this for the past few weeks. They were barely hanging by a thread. Alec, the new Head of the Institute, would come home late at night and he would be gone before Magnus woke in the morning. Magnus Bane was now plagued by nightmares of a time long past. He longed for Alec to take him in his arms and tell him that everything would be okay, but when he realised that his Nephilim would always put his angelic duties first, Magnus had turned to the bottle... no, not to liquor (though Lilith knew he drank plenty of that) but to Nightshade. The sleeping potion which had once soothed him in Alec’s absence was slowly turning into an addiction that was clouding his mind and dragging him steadily into hell. He would dream constantly and wake up with no memory of what he had seen yet he would not be able to shake the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he had dreamt of something important.

Someone was calling to him... He could feel it in his body and in his mind, in his magic and in his every cell...

For the past few weeks, the hazy visions would conjure up images of times long gone. Centuries of bodies, entangled with his in flames of passion and then those same bodies, listless and lifeless in death. Then, out of the ashes of loss, her voice seemed to penetrate through the very veil of death itself... Her voice... The one woman who could turn his very existence into upheaval... Katherine Pierce... His Katerina.

Tonight, as he thrashed in his dreams, he felt the call again, more powerful than he ever thought possible. It was her determination that seemed to ignite Magnus’ blood and slowly, a blue ember of his magic sparked in his clenched fist. She channelled his magic while he was trapped in his drug-induced slumber. Suddenly, her necklace appeared out of nowhere, snaking around his neck and it fell with a small thud against his chest. Magnus lifted his trembling hands in his sleep, running his fingers over the shining lapis lazuli. His heart thumped against the pendant fastened securely around his neck. He was still barely conscious, fighting his drugged sleep and he could barely register the sudden appearance of the pendant. The weight of the necklace began to choke him and his eyes flew open in a panic. His other hand was suddenly weighted by the cold, hard moonstone. Magnus jerked up with a start, his one hand trying to yank the pendant off his neck and the other unclasping so that he could stare incredulously at the moonstone. Many an Ancient had been searching for the moonstone for centuries and somehow it had materialised in his hands from thin air! This was an omen... A terrible omen. The pendant began to burn against his throat. Magnus pulled against it and barely managed to lift it towards his line of sight... _Her necklace..._ summoned by _his magic_ which was being used _against_ his will. He shook his head in denial, trying to dislodge the onslaught of memories from his mind.

_*Flashback – Massachusetts 1852*_

_Her lips were petal soft as she trailed kisses along his jawline. She nipped playfully at his neck... teasing but never quite puncturing skin. Magnus smiled at her mischief. She was his little minx. She knew he was hers, to do with as she pleased. She had to prove it though, his jealous Little Button, ever since he had told her about the latest vampire to capture his attention, Camille Belcourt. Well, as lovely as Camille was, Magnus had left her for the besotted werewolf. He could have his one lifetime with the dazzling vampire; Magnus would have an eternity after that to slake his lust for her. For now though, he had Katherine in his arms and if his pretty little Button was thirsty all she had to do was take a bite. He was always ready to sate her. _

_Katherine lifted her head so she could look into his golden cat eyes. Gently, she ran her fingers over his lids, silently beseeching him to close his eyes, to surrender himself completely to her. It may have been daylight, but the curtains were firmly shut so that they would not be disturbed by the onslaught of the sun’s rays. He would not risk harming her in anyway. _

_In the darkness of the room, the candles flickered, their heat infusing the air with a heady aroma. The sheets entwined around their bodies shackled him to her bed. Her nimble body barely weighed anything, but to feel her in all her glory, solid, unyielding and truly immortal in his arms not only grounded him in the moment but intoxicated him._

_He closed his eyes and gave into her, wrapping his arms around her. He closed his eyes as she ran her hands through his soft dark hair, lulling him into a trance as she whispered sweet nothings and empty promises into his ears. _

_Suddenly, the gentle fingers carding through his hair grabbed him roughly at the back of his neck and yanked. He heard the small, almost imperceptible pop of her fangs descending. He felt himself smile into her tresses as she peppered his neck with kisses, settling steady on a vein, ready to pierce his flesh and feed. Magnus arched his back in anticipation. He lifted his head back into the downy pillows and tried to give her as much exposure to his neck as possible. He was ready for her. He belonged to her..._

_Her fangs barely grazed his throbbing vein when the curtains were pulled open unceremoniously, flooding the room in sunlight._

_Magnus’ eyes flew open, the spell broken by the light like ice water being thrown over his head. He grabbed Katherine with all his might and pushed her into the side of the bed that was away from the window, shielding her with the blanket and his naked body. _

_He draped himself over her protectively, holding her close in a panic. He could not let the sunlight touch her... He would not let any harm come to her._

_“Shhh... It’s all right my Sorcerer...” Katherine tried to calm him as Magnus panicked. He looked around while he held her close, trying to find a way to get to the curtains without exposing the vulnerable, beautiful vampire in his arms to the sun. He was so anxious he had even forgotten for a second that he could close the curtains using his magic._

_Katherine ran her hands up and down his chest, trying to soothe him long enough to listen to her. Magnus turned and saw Emily, watching them bemusedly next to the window._

_“Emily!” Magnus yelled at the Bennett witch. He could not believe that she would dare to endanger Katherine like that, especially after Katherine had saved the young woman’s life._

_Then without warning, Katherine used her vampire speed and flipped him over and straddled his waist as she smiled on top of him. She ran her hands seductively over his abs. _

_Magnus looked up in fear and then in wonder. This was the first time after centuries that he got to see the golden highlights in her dark hair. The sun’s rays seemed to dissolve into her pale skin, lighting her up from inside until she glowed like a literal Goddess above him. Her skin did not burn or melt but began to emit an otherworldly radiance that enveloped him as he gazed upon her unparalleled beauty in wonder._

_“How?...” He began to ask before she gently lowered herself and melded her lips gently onto his, silencing him. She lifted her head slowly, her dark locks beginning to lace with caramel as she moved in the sun. Her scent of vanilla and jasmine infusing the air around Magnus... drowsing him._

_“Emily please leave us.” Katherine whispered but her voice carried effectively to her handmaiden. She didn’t want to break Magnus out of his trance just yet._

_Her smile, so treacherous to others was filled to the brim with innocence and hope as she poured out every ounce of her affection for him from her eyes. Magnus never understood why she was so good to him. Despite the fact that both of them had other relations, they only had this special bond with each other._

_“Oh Buttons” He teased Katherine as Emily’s footsteps became fainter and the click of their bedroom door shutting reverberated throughout the manor. _

_“I never thought I would ever get to see you like this... I fear the sun may wither in envy of you now that it has finally seen someone more radiant...” _

_She laughed musically at his corny praise. They always somehow fell back to ancient tongues and flowery language with each other. Each word carried more weight between them than with any other._

_“You were always a terrible poet My Sorcerer. That’s why I miss having dear Dorothea in our bed. Besides, I wanted to surprise you my love...” Dot was much better with words._

_Magnus blanched at her affection. “Love” was one pet name of hers that he could not fully accept. Katherine and he were lovers sure, they were friends definitely, but their immortality and their very natures left no place for love. Magnus had always felt that he and Katherine were so close that they were practically one body, one soul... there was no space between them for anything, not even trust or love._

_Katherine watched his smile fade and she felt her heart sink in her chest. Here she was pouring her heart and soul out to him. She had even become a Day Walker for him. She destroyed herself over and over so that she could become one with him yet no matter how much she tried to prove her love to him over the centuries, Magnus simply could not see it. Sometimes she felt like the love she had for him was beyond understanding, beyond words, beyond magic and beyond the very essence of nature._

_She flew off the bed at a supernatural speed, pulling the blanket with her to cover her nakedness and pressed her back against the wall as her chest heaved with silent sobs. Magnus lifted himself off the bed, propping himself on his elbows... His glorious body now in full display having been left bereft of the blanket._

_“Come on Buttons don’t be like that...” Magnus tried to soothe her. He lifted his hands in silent surrender, trying not to spook her, as if she were a scared, timid little bird. He couldn’t understand what the big deal was. He had seen Katherine use and toss people aside like tissues. They had been casual for centuries, yet sometimes her heightened vampire feelings would overcome her and she would get caught up in the haze of the amazing sex they had. It was easy for Katherine to confuse lust with love._

_“I know what you’re thinking Mags...” She whispered as her voice shook. “This is not my amplified senses; I don’t know how to convince you that what I feel for you is real. Centuries may have passed but each time I look at you I feel my dead heart come back to life.”_

_Magnus could feel his throat constricting. He cared for Katherine and he felt responsible for her. After all, as the Petrova doppelgänger, she was practically forced to become a vampire because of him. It was because of Magnus that Katherine had become caught up in the Ancients’ Game. Magnus would never forgive himself for cursing her. Tatia and Katherine had died so that he could live... He would never forget their sacrifice._

_He could feel the guilt tearing away at his lungs, robbing him of breath as he stared into her moist eyes._

_“Why can’t you love me?” She asked, her sad, soft voice hissing now with anger and hurt._

_“I can’t love you because I am the one who condemned you, I have damned you Katerina!” _

_“No! No Magnus you haven’t... Can’t you see?” She pushed herself off the wall and climbed back onto the bed and straddled him once more. She threw the blanket over their bodies using it as a cocoon to wrap themselves into one another, they were so close that it was impossible to tell where her body ended and where his began. She cupped his face in her hands gently, spinning a web with her words... “We are immortal... My bloodline sired you... We are meant to be together. Your magic calls to me just like my blood calls to you.” _

_“Our relationship is unnatural Katherine” said Magnus resolutely as his eyes hardened. He activated his glamour and hid his golden cat-eyes beneath his cold brown stare. He had to be firm with her. He could not blur the lines with her._

_“My magic calls to you because Asmodeus used Petrova blood to sire me. He wanted to be the only Greater Demon with an heir. He waited centuries after the ritual for me to be born and he planned nothing but a life of evil for me. Our relationship violates the very laws of nature. I was never meant to be born, just like how vampires were never meant to walk the earth. Your blood may be my salvation but you are my weakness. You are the only vampire capable of compelling me. I could never love someone who held me under her spell and forced me to blood share with her. I need to be able to know that my decisions are my own Kath. I would have to accept you of my own volition, on my own terms. With you, I don’t know what’s real and what’s an illusion. I don’t know if I am with you out of love or out of the spell you placed on me.” _

_“Magnus... It isn’t like that.” Katherine pleaded. “I only made you drink from me because I wanted to be close to you. I drank from you as well. It was an act of love.”_

_“It was a power play!” hissed Magnus angrily as he jerked away from her touch. He got off the bed and began putting his underwear and then his pants back on._

_Katherine felt the sting in his words like a physical slap to the face._

_“I would never use you for your magic Magnus... Others have and there will always be others who will but I would never do that to you. I could have asked you to write a spell to help me walk in the daylight. You’re the most powerful warlock I know, you could have done it, but I went to Emily because I would never use you like that.” _

_“Oh so you just want me around to welcome Klaus and Elijah and give them a round of applause after they hunt you down as vengeance for ruining their plans?! Please Kath... Let’s be serious! You’re playing the long game. You may be able to compel me and make me weak for you but you know that I am the best chance you have against the Originals.” _

_“I would die for you, damn Klaus and his hybrid curse.” Katherine’s voice became steadier, more resolute. She stated it like a simple fact, not the earth-shattering revelation it should have been. To her, there was no falsehood in her claims. Lies are embellished and adorned... Truth is elementary and clear._

_“Let’s not do this Buttons... Please...” Magnus beseeched her. They were having such a good time, all this talk about the Game, nature, fate, curses and love were so unnecessary. _

_Katherine pulled him back into the bed. She tugged his pants and underwear off and hopped on top of his abs once more._

_“You don’t believe me” she said flatly and suddenly, Magnus’ heart seemed to freeze at the mad glint he saw glittering in her earthy orbs._

_She lifted her hands to the back of her neck and unclipped the lapis lazuli pendant that dangled there, drawing Magnus’ attention to the swell of her breasts. _

_“Emily spelled this necklace to allow me to walk in the sun. I can never be without it my love... I would burn. As long as I am holding it I am immune to the sun.” _

_Magnus’ brows rose. He could tell what she was thinking but he didn’t think she would actually do it. Katherine Pierce, in his opinion at least, loved herself far too much for that._

_She dangled the necklace before him like a hypnotist’s talisman, swinging it back and forth before his eyes like a pendulum._

_Then without warning, she lifted his hand by the wrist and dropped the necklace into it. As soon as she stopped touching it, her skin immediately began to sizzle and burn but Katherine herself did not move a muscle to try and escape the sun._

_“Kath! What are you thinking? Are you mad?!” Magnus shouted in fear as he quickly shot up and clasped the necklace around her neck. The burning ceased but the parts of her body that were already scorched began to blister._

_He lifted her off him and set her down on the bed. He then shot up off the bed frantically and reached into the pocket of his discarded pants for a pocket knife._

_He pulled the knife out of its leather sheath and sliced his palm, drawing blood without a second thought. He held his bloody palm to Katherine’s lips._

_“Drink” He asked her desperately. _

_Katherine’s eyes began to mist as he offered himself to her, willingly._

_“See you do care, I didn’t have to compel you.” She smiled as she brought his bleeding hand to her lips and drank his blood like it was nectar. The syrup pouring from his veins soothed her charred body instantly, his blood tasted sweeter than honey._

_“That’s precisely my point Kath, you didn’t have to compel me, not now and definitely not back then. I always cared for you yet you had decided to take advantage of me and use my body against my will. All you had to do was ask, I would have given myself to you willingly eventually.” _

_Katherine stopped drinking and looked at him sadly. Magnus was right. She was the one who ruined everything between them before it had even begun. Sure he had forgiven her and they had moved on to a fantastic relationship that had lasted centuries and would continue to last, but her foolishness had cost her his trust and ultimately, his love._

_Once she had taken enough, she let go of his hand and quickly popped her fangs to open the vein in her wrist._

_She held up her bloody wrist to him, offering him her blood in exchange, not only as part of their bond but to heal him and replenish his strength as well._

_Magnus silently took her wrist to his lips and drank obediently. He had taken to her blood like a kitten to milk. As he drank from her, they could both feel their bond strengthening from their blood-sharing._

_“This necklace is my lifeline now Magnus” said Katherine as she clasped the pendant of her necklace with her free hand. _

_Magnus relinquished her other wounded wrist as the bite began to heal and the blood flow began to slow and eventually stop. The broken skin began to stitch together and the telltale scar disappeared._

_Katherine sighed wistfully and she ran her hands soothingly through his soft hair once again._

_As their physical wounds healed and the combination of blood, magic and venom thrummed through their veins Katherine’s conniving mind kicked into overdrive. _

_She needed to heal this rift between them, just like she healed his physical wounds. She needed to find a way to use their bond to break down these walls that Magnus had erected around himself but it was all right, she thought to herself as she enveloped him into her arms once more, she had an eternity with him to make it happen._

_“Remember the first night I wanted to give myself to you Magnus, all those centuries ago? You had spurned me, telling me that you would never take advantage of my helplessness and that one day, when you are broken and you come to me I must offer you shelter? When that time comes, in your darkest night, I will send this necklace to you. At the risk of my own life, I will relinquish it to you. No matter where I am, no matter how far away I am from you... Your magic will call to me and I will send it to you. It will be a gift for you, to know that in an ever-changing world, I am your one constant. I will always be there for you my Sorcerer, in your darkest moment, in your loneliest times. When that time comes, just know that I am there and I will fight my way back to you... Always and forever...”_

_*End Flashback*_

The memories flashed like lightning beneath his eyelids, burning his eyes, causing him to scream her name.

His body shook and his mind was fogged. He grasped her pendant in his hands, running her words through his mind over and over. He was suddenly terrified of what he had seen. If the dream had not been connected to his past love Katerina he may have brushed it aside but their connection, though old was too powerful to ignore. He had also seen her mirror image in his visions... The Petrova doppelgänger herself, Elena was it?

_No... No... Please not now... It’s been centuries... Just a few more years please... I can’t play now... Not when I have Alexander... Please no..._

Magnus’s heart was suddenly gripped in a vice of fear. He knew better than anyone what the appearance of the Petrova doppelgänger meant. It meant that the Game was back on. To the Ancients it was a game, a battle for power but for everyone else it could also mean the end of the world as they knew it.

Magnus was once one of the best at this Game but now he was in no state to face what was coming. He was no longer the arrogant young Warlock who played with no regard to the consequences. He had built a life for himself in New York. He had his friends, Catarina, Dot, Izzy, Jace, Clary and the others. He had an adorable little ward in Madzie, but more than anything else, he had Alec Lightwood, his Alexander. He had found the love of his life after centuries of loneliness, confusion and strife.

Magnus looked at the necklace and the moonstone in his hand and his very core seemed to go cold.

_Her necklace... Katherine is alive... She did not die in the tomb..._

As happy as he was that she was still alive, some part of him also wanted it to be a lie... He closed his eyes and tapped into the magic of the necklace. Emily Bennett’s magical signature was unmistakable but more than that magic was the woman who wore it. Katerina Petrova... She was a different type of magic all on her own. Magnus had not felt her warmth in centuries and had nearly destroyed himself mourning her death in 1864. It was what had driven him to the ledge that Camille had to pull him back from. She had promised him shelter for an eternity and she had left him like all the others. He had found Camille instead, upon whom he had channelled all his affection out of his guilt for spurning Katherine, mistaking his fear of abandonment as love.

Magnus lifted the necklace and caressed it softly; almost reverently... Then its presence began to weigh on him, the meaning of the necklace being with him, of her giving it to him set a fire inside him. He dropped it back down with shaking hands and it thumped back onto its resting place on his heaving chest. For some perverse reason, he wanted something of hers to touch his skin the way it had touched hers for hundreds of years.

Now however, when he thought of love he could only think of one angel... The Shadowhunter that had stolen his heart... His Alexander... He was a fool to think that he had belonged to Katherine before. It was her spell that had misled him, their bond was a lie. She was an illusion. Alexander was his reality, his truth, his everything. Alexander owned his heart... Owned him...

Magnus wrapped his arms around himself in desperation and fear, fear of what had been and what was still to come. He clutched the moonstone in his trembling fist. He turned to his nightstand. The Omamori charm that Alec had given him rested within his arm’s reach. He never allowed himself to be separated from it. It was a gift from his one true love, his Shadowhunter... his Angel.

Magnus gripped the charm like a lifeline and began rocking back and forth as the effects of the Nightshade steadily wore off and the full-blown anxiety settled in once again. In the choking terror that he seemed unable to escape, he didn’t call for Katerina but for the true love of his life...

“Where are you Alexander?” He sobbed quietly into the shadows, his hand never letting go of the Omamori charm... “Please come home... I need you...”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I am back with another chapter:) I wish to thank you guys for your love and support. A special thanks to Jackal69 and ETiLak4 for bookmarking and Daisysun 1234 and ETiLak4 once again for your Kudos <3
> 
> An honourable mention goes to InWandersCara and Alinda... For your Kudos, love and encouragement. This chapter exists because you do loves <3  
Thank you to my NaNoWriMo peeps the Wanderimos <3
> 
> IMPORTANT NOTE - CHAPTER 1 WAS EDITED: Even if you guys have already read the first chapter I humbly request, if you’re interested, to go back and read the first chapter again before you go on to chapter 2. Thing is, I made major changes and upgrades to the first chapter so please check it out if you haven’t done so already!:)
> 
> Az

* * *

** _*New York – A few days later*_ **

Alec sighed sadly. He had promised Magnus that he would try and carve out time for them. Somehow, as grateful as Alec was that they had made it out of this war with minimum casualties, the biggest collateral damage seemed to be his relationship with Magnus. Try as he might, there seemed to be distance creeping in between them. Alec was no fool; he knew that everything that was wrong with them and their relationship as it stood was his fault. He had been working too hard, delegating too little and now Magnus was the one paying the price but try as he might, Alec could not get his father’s accusing voice out of his head.

** _*Earlier that day*_ **

_"That’s why we tend to stick to our own kind son” said his father when he noticed Alec distracted by a call from his boyfriend. _

_It was lunch time. In the first few weeks since Valentine’s defeat, Magnus would call Alec at every meal time to ensure that he was taking care of himself. At first, Alec found it endearing, but the sense of affection quickly gave way to irritation. Sometimes he would become so engrossed in work that he would forget to eat and Magnus would worry. Then his phone would be flooded with calls and well-meaning but distracting texts from a worried Magnus. It got so bad that eventually, he stopped taking Magnus’ calls during those hours and would try to keep away from the temptation of reading his texts and speaking to him until he could call Magnus at the end of the day to tell him that he was pulling a night shift. His Warlock, bless his heart, never complained but hearing the disappointment and sadness in Magnus’ voice was Alec’s undoing. Alec could feel his heart constrict in his chest after his irritation at Magnus’ hovering died down. Magnus deserved better. Alec could feel himself pulling away but try as he might, he could never find his way back to his love. There was always something in the way, another demon to kill, another Clave meeting to attend, another report to fill out. He stopped taking Magnus’ calls altogether. _

_It was then, that Magnus would prove how much he loved Alec. He would portal to the Institute to eat with Alec. He was the one making all the effort and he had nothing to show for it. Alec would smile and carve out the time at first but steadily, Magnus began to feel less and less welcome at the Institute. Alec would be in the middle of some important paperwork and Magnus would portal into the office in his signature dramatic fashion, looking gorgeous with his fitted clothes and perfect hair and Alec would find his eyes glued onto his handsome lover. When Alec realised what a distraction Magnus was, he would make up some lame excuse and leave his office at meal times, leaving poor Magnus alone and bereft of his company. It hurt Alec but whenever he tried to push through his work quickly to take some time off, something would draw him back in and his guilt and sense of responsibility would not allow him to take a moment for himself or Magnus._

_“We Nephilim understand what it means to sacrifice our lives and happiness for the Greater Good Alec. Yes Magnus is a wonderful man, but he is not one of us. He was not raised to be selfless or to care about others.” Robert had his ‘Shadowhunter’ voice on in full effect, as Magnus would call it. _

_Alec bit his tongue so hard he felt himself draw blood. He had to stop himself from answering back to his father. Sure Magnus did not have the same upbringing as them, but that made his sacrifices all the more significant in Alec’s eyes. Alec was raised to live for others, it was ingrained into him. Magnus had both the freedom and the power to live for himself and to do as he pleased with no consequence; yet he chose to live for others and make sacrifices. Alec had lost count of the number of times that Magnus had put himself on the line and saved them. Magnus did not deserve to be dressed down like this._

All Alec had done was ask his father to cover for him at the Institute for one night... just one night. Magnus had been awake the last time Alec went back to his apartment. He looked exhausted but he had waited up for Alec. He had asked Alec to come to dinner tonight. Alec could tell by Magnus’ sombre expression that there was something that the Warlock needed to get off his chest. Magnus’ grim tone scared him and the fragile state of their relationship doing nothing to quell his nerves and calm his deep-seeded insecurities.

It was in that moment, staring into the hopeful eyes of the man he loved more than anything that it dawned on Alec that he had barely seen his boyfriend in weeks. Magnus, usually so put together was in sweats and a loose hoodie, with no make-up, his hair was not styled and fell loosely on his gorgeous head. He never looked more enticing to Alec and Alec lost his nerve and agreed despite the fact that he didn’t know how he was going to get out of work.

As a last resort, Alec had approached his father Robert, only to be guilt-tripped and accused of being selfish and neglecting his duties to be with Magnus.

Alec pressed the heel of his palm into his burning eyes in frustration and exhaustion. Robert looked at him without an ounce of sympathy.

“You’re an Angel son... It’s time you understand what that means. You wanted Magnus, I never stopped you. But now that your mother has been de-runed, we Lightwoods need to prove ourselves to the Clave. If you want to be with Magnus you will have to prove to the Clave that your relationship with a Downworlder will never affect your judgement as a Shadowhunter or your duty as a Nephilim.”

Alec could not speak past the lump forming in his throat. It was too much, but he nodded silently in assent.

He resolved to get as much done as he could tonight before heading off... It was just one dinner; surely he could make it for Magnus? Magnus had never asked him for anything before. As Alec’s boyfriend, Magnus should never have to actually put in a request to spend time with his boyfriend yet he continued to show his goodness and his willingness to compromise. How hard could it possibly be for Alec to do this one thing for him?

* * *

** _*Mystic Falls, Virginia – Salvatore Boarding House*_ **

“That miserable bitch!” Damon was livid after Stefan and Elena told him about the visit with Katherine.

Rose who was hunched over on the couch shot up at vamp speed.

“You know you can’t believe a word she says right? Katherine is a pathological liar.”

Stefan rolled his eyes. The sarcasm naturally followed.

“No Damon! We take Katherine’s word to be Gospel. Of course we don’t believe her! Right Elena?”

He looked over hopefully at his girlfriend who was curling into herself, trying to make herself even smaller.

Elena barely heard him, she was terrified. Perhaps that was an understatement but she didn’t think the magnitude of her fears could be measured. Klaus was coming. He was not only after her but everyone she loved and Elena could do nothing to stop it.

“Hey... Hey Elena...” Stefan’s voice lulled to a comforting whisper as he tried to take Elena into his arms to quell her trembling.

Damon felt his heart drop to his knees. _This is ridiculous!_ He really had to get over his crush on his brother’s girlfriend, well, ex-girlfriend. Maybe Katherine was actually good for something when she put a spanner in the works between Elena and Stefan.

Sometimes when Damon looked at Elena he actually marvelled at her beauty. It was not just the fact that she was the most beautiful woman in the world to him, it was the fact that she had a light that shone from inside her and seemed to bleed radiance into her every pore. Yes Katherine was her mirror image, she had the same external beauty but it was only after meeting Elena and basking in her purity and sheer goodness that Damon realised what it truly meant to be in love with a good woman, a loving woman... a woman, unlike Katherine, who capable of laying down her life for the people she loved, not using the people who loved her and killing them for sport.

_No not love! _He mentally chastised himself. It was a crush, just a stupid crush and the remnants of his centuries-old infatuation with Katherine. Elena loved Stefan not him, Elena had chosen Stefan, not him... _Just like Katherine had..._ His very heart seemed to mock him... The same heart that no longer beat with life yet somehow dared to dream of a world where he could be happy with the woman he loved... But who was she? Which one was she? He could see them swimming around in his head... Elena... Katherine... Katherine... Elena... they spun round and round inside him and he could feel them meld together... to become one... to become the very embodiment of his innermost desire and his ultimate doom.

_“I already know your question and its answer...” He could still feel Katherine’s heated breath tingling against his lips. Her eyes shone with love and warmth but in contrast her voice was so cold it turned his blood into ice. _

_He cupped her cheeks gently, trying to infuse all his love into her, the same love he had carried inside him for a hundred and forty five years. He tried to bring her some form of joy in being in his arms... Then maybe she could love him as much as he had loved her..._

_“The truth is... I’ve never loved you...” Damon felt his heart turn to ash in his chest._

_“It was always Stefan...” Even when she spoke of eternal love, Katherine’s voice held no affection. Her lips moved and formed Stefan’s name and not his yet Damon could not see Stefan in her eyes... Was she telling the truth? Was Stefan really the man she loved? Was she even capable of love?_

_Elena’s rejection immediately after flashed before his eyes, as potent as a nightmare and just as painful. “I love Stefan it’s always gonna be Stefan!” Elena’s panicked cry... her passionate declaration of love for his little brother. Unlike Katherine her voice dripped with love, with devotion and unlike Katherine he could see her love for Stefan in her eyes and yet, despite her rejection, Elena’s arms still beckoned him, like something inside her still reached for him. Was Damon imagining at a part of Elena’s heart beat for him? Was it wishful thinking? An illusion? Or a fundamental truth that Elena couldn’t face and Damon was not strong enough to help her realise it?_

Damon shook his head as the others discussed the sun and the moon curse around him, completely oblivious to his inner thoughts.

He went over to the decanter and poured himself a double whiskey... neat of course.

“Slater explained everything...” Rose was going over the curse with the others. Damon felt free to tune out. He is sure Alaric did too, having read about the curse in his ex-wife Isobel’s notes. He was there with Rose when her academic vampire friend Slater had explained about the curse. Not

According to Slater, vampires and werewolves were free to walk about the Earth, killing at will, until a Shaman had put a curse on them. He made vampires slaves to the sun which would burn them on contact and bound werewolves to the phase of the moon so that they could no longer turn at will. Their sole transformation for the month on the night of the full moon would be involuntary, inevitable, unstoppable and full of bone-breaking agony. Since then, well according to Slater and Isobel at least, both species had been scrambling to find a way to break the curse. The only problem was, whichever species broke the curse first would bind the other species to their part of the curse forever with no possible cure. So if the vampires broke the curse, the werewolves would only be able to turn or be forced to turn on the full moon and if the werewolves broke the curse then the vampires would never be able to walk in the sun.

“So Klaus wants to break the curse so that the werewolves cannot turn at will and vampires can walk in the sun? If he is an all-powerful original vampire shouldn’t he have found a way to walk in the sun already? I mean Stefan and Damon can do it, how hard can it be?” Jeremy had raised a good point, something no one seemed to have any answer to.

“Why Klaus wants to break the curse is irrelevant, the only thing that matters is that he wants to kill Elena to do it” there went Stefan, rushing to Elena’s rescue... the valiant knight to Damon’s villainy.

“It’s like I told Elena, the doppelgänger is the key to breaking the curse, the moonstone is what binds it so as long as Klaus is still looking for the moonstone, it may buy us some time.”

Rose’s sudden concern for Elena however, stoked Damon’s ire. “Oh now you’re concerned? A few days ago you were ready to hand her up to Klaus with a bow on a gold platter!”

“Hey!” Rose shouted. Her age made her bolder, and unfortunately for Damon, a lot stronger.

“I am also tired of running, so I have just as much at stake here as all of you! If we can find a way to kill Klaus then I will also be free. Elijah may have pardoned me but Damon the genius had to stake him! If Klaus finds out that I was involved in the death of his most beloved brother then nothing will stop him from killing us all, even Elena’s sacrifice.”

“Wait... That vampire Elijah is the brother of that murdering psychopath?!” Caroline, who hadn’t spoken until now suddenly amped up the tension.

Tyler put his arms around her, offering silent comfort. “Now we know Klaus will need the moonstone to break the curse, so there’s that.”

“Well he will have to go into the tomb to get it” Damon smirked. It had been his cocky idea actually, to leave the moonstone in the tomb with Katherine while she had been unconscious. The tomb was spelled so that no vampire would wish to enter because they would not be able to leave and Damon was counting on the fact that Klaus loved himself enough not to risk confinement just to walk in the sun.

Elena momentarily forgot her guilt complex to step up and diffuse the tension. “But why does Klaus care about breaking the curse? Does it make a difference if the vampires break the curse first when the werewolves, bar a few, are mostly extinct?”

Rose shuddered at Elena’s implication. She had seen firsthand how werewolves who were not bound by the curse had thrived. Sure their nature still rendered them cursed, but she had seen the difference it made... in New York. A friend of hers, Luke Garroway was the new Alpha. A pack that was raised from the ashes of obscurity was now a beacon of hope to others of their kind. If the curse was lifted by the wolves first, the results would simply be bad for humans, but it would be catastrophic for vampires who were their natural enemies.

“There are still packs in big cities, they have formed accords with the Shadowhunters and thanks to the blood of the Angel Raziel, they were able to breed again in the confines of the City of Angels, Alicantẻ.” The fact that Luke’s pack was descended from the line of werewolves bred in Alicantẻ meant that his pack could turn at will. It had been a gift from the Angels in terms of the Accords. The Shadowhunters were the ones who could determine the fate of their people, vampires and werewolves alike.

“Shadowhunters?” Even Stefan and Damon were confused by this one. It was Stefan who spoke this time.

Rose was shocked. “They’re of angel blood. They protect humans from evil such as demons and those of demon-blood, they call them “downworlders” and they include vampires and werewolves under this definition. How have you never heard of them? They have institutions in all the big cities in the world.”

Stefan dropped his eyes to the floor in guilt. He and Damon had always actively avoided the big cities. Yes they had been there and hunted there but never stayed long enough to know the local customs and practice. The main reason had been Stefan’s ripper tendencies. There were always more eyes in big cities so it had always been better for them to stick to the small towns. Lexi was the one who had taught them that.

“Okay forget that, how do we keep Klaus from killing Elena?” Jeremy was not interested in knowing why Stefan and Damon did not know about the Shadowhunters.

By default, everyone turned to the lone witch in the room, Bonnie Bennett.

Bonnie had her family’s spell book in her hand and was perusing while the others were talking.

She looked up in surprise. She had been entirely focused on her reading and had only snapped out of it when she felt everyone’s eyes burning holes into her skull.

She shrugged her shoulders, in truth; she had actually tuned them out at one point.

“What?” She asked.

“Come on Bon-Bon! You must know how to stop Klaus from breaking the curse?” Damon said in a mocking baby voice, complete with an exaggerated pout.

“I’m still looking...” Hissed Bonnie angrily and then she focused on Damon whispering the spell to burst the blood vessels in his brain causing him to have multiple aneurysms.

Damon clutched his head and fell to the floor, his vampire abilities rapidly healing him only for Bonnie’s spell to burst the vessels again to perpetuate the agony.

“Okay okay!” He grunted, trying to mask the fact that he was in extreme pain.

Bonnie eventually stopped. “Try calling me Bon-Bon again!”

Damon rolled his eyes as his healing kicked in one last time and fixed him up.

The sudden lull in the room was interrupted by Rose’s phone ringing.

“Hello? Oh Slater hi!”

A few tense moments passed as Rose listened to Slater on the other end of the line and hummed occasionally.

Suddenly her shoulders tensed and, as if it were possible, she became even paler.

_Bad news..._ The others thought as the fear in the room became palpable. There were quite a few of them gathered there at the Boarding House. There was Alaric, Jeremy, Tyler, Caroline, Bonnie, Elena, Stefan and Damon with Rose but not a single one of them know what to do or say to ease the sense of dread that suddenly pervaded the air around them.

When Rose cut the call on Slater they all looked at her, waiting for her impatiently to clue them in.

“That was Slater...” Rose mumbled, trying to figure out a way to break the news.

“No shit Sherlock! What did he want?!” Damon was never one to beat around the bush.

“Slater said that the only way to ensure that Klaus can’t break the curse is to ensure that none of the species can lift it. If all vampires walk in the sun or all werewolves turn at will it would be detrimental. The only way to keep the balance is to ensure that none of the species can break the curse and to do that we would need to break the bond between the curse and the moonstone.”

“So let’s do that!” Said Damon, as if it was the most obvious answer.

The others looked at him incredulously. Clearly Damon was missing something. Well in all fairness, he was also a little tipsy.

Elena decided to walk him to it, “We would need the moonstone Damon, which is with Katherine in the tomb. You know? The tomb in which we trapped her and she wants her freedom in exchange for the moonstone? Freedom that we can’t grant her because she will double-cross us and go running to Klaus?”

“Whose idiotic idea was it to dump the moonstone in there with her?!” Asked Jeremy, clearly not fully up to speed.

Everyone in the room stared condescendingly at Damon. No words were necessary.

Damon squeezed the glass of whiskey in his hand in uncontrolled anger before it shattered into a million pieces, sending whiskey, glass and blood diving to the floor.

“That miserable bitch!” Damon shouted.

* * *

** _*New Orleans*_ **

Klaus gritted his teeth in barely controlled rage. Once he had gotten Marcel to spill the beans on Davina he had wanted nothing more than to storm the church where he held her and claim her magic forcefully for his own. Having a witch as powerful as her on his side would make breaking the curse much easier, not to mention the fact that the witch politics in New Orleans meant that he needed a way to break into the local coven.

It was Elijah actually, who held him back. “Think Niklaus. By threatening Marcel to ensure her compliance you will only alienate the girl and make an enemy of her. You can compel Marcel now, use him to control her. She doesn’t need to know that you’re the one pulling the strings.

Klaus sighed in exasperation. It’s just that he was sick of blackmailing witches and bribing warlocks to do his bidding. The witches were condescending and judgmental and the warlocks were too greedy and expensive. Granted, a warlock did not suffer the limitations that ancestral witches did, but he only knew on warlock powerful enough to give him the throne of New Orleans, but the further he kept Magnus Bane away from this Game the better. He would not want to incur the wrath of Asmodeus for hurting his precious Prince.

Oh well, looks like Davina Claire would have to do.

There was one glaring problem though. The witches in New Orleans could only practice their magic through their ancestors who had been interred in the sacred grounds of New Orleans. Their magic would not work outside the boundary of the city or the surrounding areas where they could still invoke the names of their ancestors. Taking Davina to Mystic Falls to break the curse would be like taking a pellet gun to a hunt if that was all she was good for. But Marcel had said that Davina had gained immense power from the witches’ harvest and hopefully she would prove her capabilities. Klaus was not above killing her or anyone that got in his way. He was also not above blackmailing a Bennett witch or bribing a hedonistic warlock to do it... He was just sick of living as half of himself, at half of his potential. Klaus wanted to set his werewolf side free, to be the world’s first and most powerful hybrid and to be King.

The problem was that Elena’s best friend was a Bennett witch. No... Not _a_ Bennett witch but _the _Bennett witch. He could only hope and pray that Bonnie’s powers were still in the fledgling stages but Klaus was not a praying man. Bonnie was a wild card, a complication that he did not want to leave to chance. He would test Davina. She would be a useful ally to keep the New Orleans witches in check if nothing else but if she could measure up to Bonnie, then Klaus might have just found his trump card.

Klaus compelled Marcel one more time to keep their secret but to meet him whenever Klaus called for him. That way Klaus could compel and instruct him whenever he wished. Klaus tried to let this victory be a salve on his wounds. He had all the cards, Katerina would ensure it. He just had to make sure that he played them properly. He would emerge victorious in the Game. There was no one on this good earth who was powerful enough to stop him.

* * *

***New York Institute***

Alec rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a full night’s sleep and it was beginning to show. He was stretched unbelievably thin and his patience was on a short leash. He had just slammed his files on his desk after yelling at Raj for missing a spike in demon attacks in lower Manhattan. Seriously?! New York was one of the most financially and socially buzzing cities in the world, casting a wide net for Alec as his jurisdiction. How could Raj have possibly missed these attacks? A collapse in the New York shadow world would have catastrophic consequences, not only for the country but the world as well. It was a huge responsibility for such young shoulders but Alec was born to lead this Institute. He would not fail his people or his family.

“Alec? Are you seriously still here?”

Alec lips turned up, not in a full smile but an exasperated sigh of derision at his Parabatai’s voice. He looked up at Jace, fresh from training and fully rested with slight envy. Such simple luxuries seemed to be out of reach for the new Head of the Institute.

“Raj had an issue with lower Manhattan. I will leave once I know he has everything back under control” said Alec but even as the words left his lips, his cheeks seemed to flame at the lie. There was a mountain load of reports still on his desk and the moment he even seemed to make a dent, the pile seemed to grow instead of diminish, as if it had a life of its own. He didn’t think he would be leaving the institute tonight at a reasonable hour but then again, this was his new normal. Even the idea of taking a second for himself seemed selfish and self-indulgent. Valentine’s death seemed to have brought with it its own set of problems. He had been working overtime for weeks yet there seemed to be no end in sight to the mess that needed to be cleaned up.

On the other hand though, considering that Magnus seemed to want to discuss something important when he invited him to dinner tonight, maybe it would be a relief to hide out in the Institute. Alec knew he was a terrible boyfriend but he didn’t think he could stand it if Magnus broke up with him. He just needed to weather this storm as quickly and efficiently as he could, find some balance between his personal and professional life and then he would devote as much time as possible to mending his relationship with his precious Warlock and devote his life to showing Magnus how much he loved him.

_Oh god what am I thinking?! I can’t avoid my own boyfriend! What kind of a jerk am I?!_

Jace continued to stare at Alec in concern.

Two minutes later, Izzy and Clary walked into the office. They had clearly come from the training room. They both looked flushed from the workout and had bright smiles on their faces.

On seeing them so care-free, Alec’s blood began to boil again. Jace even had time to stand around and stare at him and Alec hadn’t even had a chance to catch a proper glimpse at Magnus in what seemed like forever.

“Alec? Come on you can’t still be here!” complained Izzy.

Alec lowered his head and carried on writing out the report on his desk so that his siblings and Clary would not see the anger in his eyes. Deep down he knew it wasn’t their fault. He was the one to take on the mantle as Head of the Institute. He was the one who took it upon himself to protect the Lightwood name. The rest of them worked hard as well, it’s not like they didn’t, they were just better at balancing their personal lives and their duties than Alec. This thought had his mood sinking further and it made him feel incompetent, which was ironic considering that the report he was currently filling out was Jace’s.

“Yeah Alec... Come on... You finally have a life outside the Institute” tried Jace.

“Life? Life?!” Alec felt the delicate tethers holding him in check snap like toothpicks.

“Here I am, filling out these damn reports for you, which you couldn’t care less about by the way... and you think that I would much rather be rotting away in this office than being with my boyfriend who I haven’t seen in weeks?! You guys only have lives because I am stuck here covering for you and cleaning up after your mess! You and Clary are the ones who fought Valentine and I am the one who has to answer to the Clave. Izzy is out having fun at every Downworlder party and I am the one justifying it as networking and political relations to the stuffy coats in Alicanté! I am the boring one doing all your dirty work. You guys battle demons and go back to your lives and I am the one who has to deal with the administrative crap!” It was only after this rant that poor Alec stopped to breathe. He felt a temporary sense of reprieve after unburdening himself, but even that small sense of relief was taken from him as he looked at his concerned and saddened family before him.

He immediately regretted his words.

“I am sorry guys, I didn’t mean it. I am just sleep-deprived and I am missing Magnus that’s all.”

“Don’t do that Alec...” Said Clary, her voice was steely and her eyes moist. “Don’t trivialise your suffering for our benefit. You are right. You don’t need to apologise. We haven’t realised how bad you have it because you lead the Institute.”

“Yeah Alec...” Jace chimed in. “We are all here for you. I promise we are going to get through this together. You aren’t alone Parabatai”

“Wow Alec I am so sorry, we had no idea it was this bad” whispered Izzy as she walked around the desk to hold him. Sure she was used to her brother’s rants, Alec always tended to bottle things up until he exploded, but now they could see the toll that it was taking on him. It’s too bad though; that they had not seen the toll that Alec’s distance had taken on Magnus.

* * *

** _*At Magnus’ loft*_ **

He straightened the centerpiece for what felt like the hundredth time. Magnus was practically trembling with nerves. He had asked Alec to dinner but he had no idea how he was going to pour his heart out to him. Yes, Alec knew that Magnus was the son of a demon. He just didn’t know which demon and the circumstances that not only surrounded his birth, but his life as well. Would Alec still feel the same way once he knew about Magnus’ past? Would he judge Magnus for the game he was about to play and the gamble that he was about to take? The players in the game were shifting; the circumstances were fickle and the stakes were high... Too high.

Of course, there was also the off chance that Alec would just work late again. The thought had Magnus’ heart drop to his fancy patent leather loafers, because as much as he didn’t want to have this conversation with Alec, he knew that he needed to. Alec was not the first being he ever loved, but he was most definitely the last. Alec was it for Magnus and he needed Alec to know what was going on. He would never take such a huge gamble with Alec’s life and Alec’s soul. That’s the thing about the Game, he could lose everyone he ever loved and he would die before he put Alec in any danger.

_He will come... He will come..._

Magnus’ eyes were glued to the door as he magically reheated the food again and again. He had magical never-ending candles lit to set a relaxing mood and he had a beautiful bottle of vintage wine in the cooler.

He had begged Alec to make it tonight. Sure he shouldn’t have to beg his own boyfriend to spend time with him, and Magnus would never complain about Alec’s dedication to his Shadowhunter duties but Magnus was getting desperate. He could not resist her calls for much longer... It was taking up a lot of his magic to resist her connection to him and there was the issue that he could not stay away once all the players joined the fray. He needed to tell Alec the truth. Even if it killed him, he would let Alec walk out on him if he chose to, as long as Alec was safe and as long as Magnus let him make an informed choice.

An hour passed, then two and before he knew it... Magnus began to pace. He looked longingly at the wine and then at his drinks counter, tempted to calm his nerves with alcohol.

_No! _He thought vehemently He needed to be completely sober for this. Yes liquid courage would go a long way in calming his nerves but he needed to prepare Alec as best he could and this conversation would be much too important. Magnus did not want to diminish the gravitas of the evening in any way.

He checked his watch. Alec was now six hours late. It was almost 2 am. Magnus reached into his pocket almost unconsciously and ran his hand longingly over the bottle of Nightshade. He was about to give in to temptation when the hand clutching the little vial brushed against Alec’s Omamori charm. He was shocked back into his sense. He quickly yanked his hand out of his pocket as if the potion had physically scalded him. He would not, could not give into temptation no matter how scared he as or how nervous he was about seeing is love. Alec’s charm gave him courage and strengthened his waning hope.

Suddenly, a searing pain in his head suddenly brought him to his knees. His glamour dropped and his cat eyes constricted to slits in pure agony. Magnus clutched his head and tried not to scream as he curled into a foetal position on his expensive Persian rug. Spasms shook his entire body as he tried to ride out the hot throbbing that seemed to travel from his head straight to his chest. His heart seemed to stop and he couldn’t breathe. He gasped and he saw Katherine again, in the tomb. She had desiccated and mummified to the extent that she couldn’t move but her eyes... Her cold chocolate brown eyes chilled him to his very core.

He felt the familiar compulsion to go to her, to answer her siren call. The spell she had over him was powerful but he knew that his love for his Alexander could weather him through any storm. He needed Alec more than he needed anything in his life.

_Alexander... Please come home... I beg you please... _

Magnus tried to cry out but his voice seemed to have left him.

Then, as quickly as it had started... The paralysing pain began to dissipate. He grabbed the Omamori charm from his pocket and clutched it like a lifeline. It was his only link to the man he loved. It was his only hope. Magnus knew that he didn’t have much time before his connection to Katherine would force him to seek her out. He put the charm back into his pocket, comforted for having it on his person and went over to the drinks station. He poured himself a neat but small amount of whiskey to drown out her eyes. He took out the Nightshade and allowed himself a sip to calm himself and to relieve him of the residual pain, just one sip. Two sips would disorient him and three would put him to sleep.

Unfortunately, Magnus had underestimated how weak he actually was. He hadn’t eaten properly in days and the essence of the Nightshade and accumulated in his system. He turned around too quickly and the room began to spin. He felt as if he had drunk two bottles of whiskey. He swayed and no matter how hard he tried, he could not get the room back into focus. He began to rub his eyes in a panic. He couldn’t fall asleep... Not now... It was almost morning... Alec would be home any minute. Magnus stumbled to the couch in front of the dinner table and tried to steady himself. But then another image of her flashed through his mind... _London 1490... the first time he had introduced her to the ton and the nobility. The first time he had held Katerina Petrova and introduced her to everyone worth knowing in England... The day Katherine Pierce was born. It was at Lord Branford’s banquet. In a bevy of beauties, she shone like a pearl in a reef._ Magnus never thought he could feel that way about anyone ever again, but he was wrong. He was so completely wrong. He had never thought in all his centuries that a literal Angel would walk into his life and that this Angel would throw open the doors of heaven for a soul as damned as his. He had never known true happiness or true beauty until Alexander Gideon Lightwood. He mesmerised Magnus like no other. Magnus belonged to Alec and no other. All his past relationships had been a fallacy. Alexander was his certainty.

Try as he might thought, Magnus could not shake Katherine’s invasive presence from his psyche. He shook his head to try and clear his mind but he seemed to be surrounded by a dense fog and her face was the only coherent thought he could form. It was like she was invading his very being as she had done in the past, as she had always done.

“Alec... Alec!” Magnus called for his Shadowhunter with all the love he had in his heart for him before he collapsed on the couch, losing his battle against the woman and the Nightshade.

* * *

It was nearly 6 am when Alec finally came home to the loft. The magic candles were still burning dutifully but their magnificence was beginning to diminish in front of the steadily rising sun out on the balcony. He felt his heart constrict as he saw the cold uneaten food laid out and the wine which had now warmed up. Alec’s could feel the bitterness burning a hole inside him. It was not fair that despite all his efforts to make it home, he had let all of Magnus’ heartfelt preparations go to waste.

A small swivel of his head and he found his beautiful boyfriend passed out on the couch. He could tell that Magnus had fallen asleep waiting for him. He was still dressed in his ensemble from the night before. The poor Warlock had actually made an effort to dress up for their date and style his hair which now fell adorably into his eyes. Alec decided not to wake him so he tried to sneak past Magnus to go to their bedroom. Alec would have given his eye-teeth for a hot shower right then but was rewarded with the sound of ruffling and shuffling as Magnus slowly returned to the land of the conscious.

Magnus scrunched his eyes tight against the onslaught of the rising sun and unconsciously flicked his wrist to close the blinds.

Alec noticed that his magic was no longer a flashy beautiful blue but a meek white. He became concerned. Magnus seemed pale and weak.

He turned around to put his bow and quiver in a corner and rushed to his boyfriend. He took unsteady Warlock protectively into his arms in a warm embrace.

“Alexander? What time is it? Are you just getting in?” Magnus whispered as he pulled back to look at his gorgeous love; his voice still hazy with sleep. Alec could feel himself getting turned on. He really was the luckiest man in the world that this beautiful magic-maker was all his.

“Yes love I am sorry. I will just grab a quick shower and head back to the Institute. Go back to sleep it’s all right.”

Magnus’ eyes widened.

Alec placed a quick kiss to his lips before getting up and shrugging off his jacket.

“You missed dinner” Magnus called behind him. He could feel the lump forming in his throat and he tried to push it down. Alec had stood him up... Again.

“I am sorry Mags... I really am. But you know how it is... I will make it up to you love I promise.”

“When?” Magnus hated how pathetic he sounded.

“When what?” Alec tried to stifle his anger but he was tired and hungry and it did not bode well for his patience.

“When am I going to see you again? Hmm let me think... Can I make an appointment now for our tenth anniversary? Or perhaps Clary and Jace’s wedding? Clearly a 24 hour notice is not enough to book an appointment with the Head of the Institute!” Magnus couldn’t help it. It was not the fact that Alec missed dinner that upset him. It was the fact that Alec had broken his promise. Sure Alec didn’t know what Magnus had wanted to talk to him about over dinner but Magnus had seen in the Shadowhunter’s eyes that he could sense Magnus’ tension and vulnerability. Magnus needed Alec now more than ever and the fact that Alec hadn’t even cared enough to call, let alone show up was killing him inside.

“Are we really going to do this now?!”Alec snapped.

“You’re damn right we are! I am not a kept man Alexander Gideon Lightwood! I am not a chauffeur to portal you around or a genie to grant you magic wishes. I am your boyfriend!” ‘

Magnus resented Alec in that moment. He resented him for making him fall madly and hopelessly in love with him. He resented the fact that he could not live without him. He resented him for breaking his promise and he resented him for turning Magnus into the hysterical screaming shrew that was nagging his boyfriend about a missed dinner. This is what his love for Alec had reduced him to.

“I needed you...” Magnus whispered. His mask of anger slipping, his clouded eyes filled with sorrow.

Alec, in his anger and fatigue did not see his lover’s vulnerability, only what he thought was Magnus’ selfishness.

“You think I want this?! I thought you understood Magnus! I am a Shadowhunter. My first duty is to the Clave. On top of everything I have to deal with my parents and cleaning up after Jace and Izzy and Clary. I can’t handle your theatrics on top of everything! I won’t put up with it.”

Magnus could feel his heart constricting in his chest. He knew that Alec was stretched thin. He knew in his heart of hearts that Alec was just tired and had not meant what he said. But the insecure part of him that had endured centuries of pain and heartbreak felt like dying in that moment.

“So now our relationship is reduced to you putting up with me? I have become a burden that you have to endure?” Magnus whispered as his voice broke.

Alec immediately wished that he could rip his tongue out. How could he have said such a thing? Magnus was no burden. In fact, they were all a burden on him. Magnus was the one who always fixed their problems and was always expending his time and magic on them and had never asked for anything in return... except this one dinner and Alec couldn’t even give him that.

Alec stared at his broken boyfriend and the silence seemed to sit thickly between them. He could not form a coherent sentence. Apologies and entreaties seemed to die on the tip of Alec’s tongue. The tension was sliced through like a butcher’s knife by the shrill ring of Alec’s phone.

“Hey Alec! Listen I am sending Raj out to check on those demon attacks in Manhattan. It seems routine. I will ask him to fill in the report when he gets back” It was Izzy. She was all-business and had no idea what a tense moment she had interrupted between her brother and his boyfriend.

Alec rolled his eyes. Raj was good for administration but his fieldwork was shoddy. Manhattan was a densely populated and thriving area and Alec couldn’t afford any mistakes. He also knew that the Inquisitor would want him to vet the report on the demon attacks. 

“Wait Izzy; tell Raj I will meet him there now.”

“Why? Aren’t you with Magnus? You just left here Alec and you missed dinner to boot. Spend some time with Magnus. This is not a big deal.”

Spending time with Magnus right now was exactly what Alec didn’t want. He felt bad enough as it is but he also thought that they both needed some time to cool down. He felt his chest tighten. How had it come to this? He loved the man before him more than anything in the world, dramatics, theatrics and all but he couldn’t be here with Magnus right now.

“I am on my way Izzy...” His tone held finality as well as a hidden warning for Izzy not to probe further.

He cut the call with a clipped tap to his phone.

“So you’re leaving?” Magnus asked incredulously.

“Yeah I can’t be here right now. Raj is going on patrol and I am going to join him.”

“You haven’t even eaten and I still haven’t had a chance to talk to you. A patrol is a routine exercise; can’t you ask someone else to go instead?” Magnus suddenly realised that their fights were not as important as the danger that was coming. He and Alec could always fix things between them, but they couldn’t do that if Alec was in peril.

“I just need to get away.”

“Alexander please...” Magnus begged. There was that needy tone again but he couldn’t help it. It was like the man Magnus loved had morphed into a stranger before his eyes. Alec was slipping away from him and Magnus felt it as if his own life was being drained away along with him.

“The Clave itself is an institution Alexander! It was there long before even the thought of you was born and it will be there long after you...” He choked at the end. Alec’s mortality was another knife aimed at his chest, one that he could not draw right now.

“Magnus enough! You knew what I was when you signed on to be with me. I can’t have Raj reporting to the Clave. What would you have me do?”

Magnus couldn’t believe it had come to this but he had no choice. He had to put his heart on the line. He had to make Alec understand how his indifference was killing him...

“Choose me...” He begged, his small voice barely above a whisper.

Alec’s eyes widened in shock.

“Please Alexander, I have never asked you for anything. Just this once, there is no emergency, no life or death situation... Just this once... Please choose me over your duty... Just this once. I promise I will never ask anything of you again.” Magnus pleaded and beseeched him.

Alec felt his eyes heating up with tears. He wanted nothing more than to stay and sure the patrol was no big deal but he couldn’t handle Magnus like this and he didn’t feel comfortable when the situation between them was so tense and emotional.

He could feel his anger bubbling to the surface again, like poison. He couldn’t believe that his own boyfriend was asking him to choose him over his angelic duties.

“I am sorry Magnus, I need to go to Raj. I don’t have time to deal with you and your drunken drama at 7 in the morning.”

His accusatory tone pierced Magnus like a blade. He had tried to stay awake for Alec. He had not had more than one drink and he had no idea the Nightshade would affect him so badly. Yet here Alec was, judging him and mistaking his weakness for intoxication.

“Alexander please...” He could feel his eyes tear up as he pleaded again but he was spared from losing any more of his dignity when his Nephilim stuck up his hand to silence him and turned on his heels, grabbed his bow and quiver and walked out of the loft without looking back.

* * *

Alec stormed into the Institute. He hadn’t even gone out on patrol to meet Raj. If that moron actually learnt how to mind his own damn business and focus on his duties instead of Alec’s love life then maybe Alec wouldn’t need to babysit him.

He walked straight into his office and for once, he locked the door. He didn’t want anyone dropping in when he was so high strung. His phone rang in his pocket...

“By the Angel!” Alec cursed.

He knew who it was without looking... _Magnus._

Alec silenced his phone without answering.

All he wanted was one moment of peace, one moment where no one looked to him for something or pinned their expectations on him. He leaned against the door and slid down to the floor. It was as if his legs and shoulders were physically buckling from the pressure.

His phone rang again but he had no idea because of the silent mode. It rang on and off again for another ten minutes.

Alec had unknowingly missed seven calls in those 5 minutes. All of them were from Magnus’ phone but only one of them had actually been from Magnus...

Alec drew his legs to his chest and he barely even had a chance to draw his next breath when someone began to bang the door against his back, sending shockingly uncomfortable vibrations through his spine.

_Bang Bang Bang_

They then tried the doorknob in vain.

“Alec?! Alec please open up!” It was Clary. She kept banging frantically.

Alec growled in barely contained anger at the intrusion. By the angel didn’t anyone know what a desire for privacy looked like? He felt like an ant under a constant microscope.

“Alec open up please!”

“What is it Clary?” Alec yanked the door open and tried to keep his tone even, he really did.

Clary did not even register his rudeness. She looked up at Alec with glassy, tearful eyes.

Alec’s anger quickly gave into confusion but he didn’t have to wait long.

Clary immediately began sobbing. “You... You have to hurry Alec... Dot just called me... It’s... It’s Magnus...”

And with those simple words, Alec’s already chaotic world tilted completely off its axis.

* * *

The minute Alec had left; it felt as if Magnus’ heart had stopped completely. He began to hyperventilate and the panic paralysed him. Alec had taken Magnus’ life with him right out the door. Magnus took out the Nightshade potion and took another sip desperately with shaky hands. He needed comfort but if Alec would not be there to provide it, he would settle for oblivion. He took out the Omamori charm and caressed it again as the tears and the Nightshade began to blur his vision.

Suddenly the pain hit him again and became unbearable. The lapis lazuli necklace around his neck seemed to weigh him down and somehow choke him at the same time. He gripped the Omamori charm and called for Alec again despite the fact that his pleas had always fallen on deaf ears before. Katherine’s very spirit in the necklace however, seemed to overpower him. Magnus collapsed on the floor and began to writhe in agony. He tried to call on his magic for protection but his magic had turned into a dull and feeble white light. He was drained and helpless. With trembling hands he tried to dial Alec’s number. It rang for a few seconds before Alec cut the call completely. He was avoiding him clearly but Magnus was in so much pain he could barely register it. He could feel the moonstone in his pocket, digging into his hip as he curled into a foetal position on the floor.

With the last ounce of strength he had left, he sent forth a burst of his magic. A meek SOS signal and he prayed to whatever deity that would show him mercy that Caterina would answer his call for help.

Black spots began dancing in his vision and when he shut his eyes against the dizziness, it felt like fireworks were shooting from behind his eyelids. 

He heard the telltale fizzle of an incoming portal. Whether it was a friend or foe, he did not know and he officially did not care. Whether it was help or death he would welcome it anyway if it took away his suffering.

“Magnus! By Lilith what’s wrong?!” 

_Caterina..._ Magnus thought with some semblance of relief.

So help it was.

He gave in to the blackness, Katherine’s chocolate eyes following him into the abyss.

* * *

Caterina was in a panic. In all the centuries that she had known Magnus she had never seen him like this. It was not just the fact that his magic had dimmed. Magnus was always the personification of light, laughter and colour. But the Warlock that writhed unconsciously before her had seemed to have lost all his splendour. He was thin... Too thin. His hair was no longer styled garishly but fell limply over his eyes. His skin was pale and clammy and he looked weak beyond measure. It was almost as if his very life was ebbing away before her eyes. In all her years of ever treating people, magical and non-magical alike, Caterina Loss had never felt this type of fear.

Had it only been a few weeks since they had last spoken? She had been so busy with Madzie and her rounds at the hospital. Now she felt guilty for not checking in with him. Her best friend seemed to have lost all colour and sheen.

She picked up his phone of the floor and unconsciously pressed the call button, assuming that Magnus would have called his boyfriend for help first. Her one hand held her best friend’s phone while the other began emitting a soothing light, trying to breathe some healing strength and life back into Magnus’ emaciated body.

She dialled and dialled but Alec refused to pick up. Normally Caterina would have given the young Shadowhunter the time of day, making an excuse for him like maybe he was busy or in a meeting, but the fact that she was calling repeatedly from Magnus’ phone should have alarmed him. Surely Alec would know that Magnus’ number would only flash consistently on his phone if it were an emergency and the circumstances were dire? Another look at the weakened Magnus served to cement her fears. She could feel Alec’s neglect in every weak twitch of Magnus’ limp body. Caterina did not know how many times she dialled Alec but she gave up and burned Magnus’ phone in her hand in frustration. She threw the scraps of the phone away in disdain and began using both her hands to try and heal Magnus, who could barely draw breath by this point. She quickly sent an SOS signal with her magic, summoning Dorothea “Dot” Rollins. If she wanted to get a Warlock as powerful but as weakened as Magnus back on his feet... She was going to need all the help she could get.

She closed her eyes and thought miserably of their late friend Ragnor Fell. She missed him at this point. The wounds from Ragnor’s death were still too fresh. She could not afford to lose Magnus too.

As she healed Magnus with one hand, she used her other hand to levitate him and transport him into his bed. The silken sheets seemed to drown him. She magically changed him into comfy sweats and a wife beater and removed his products and make-up so that he would be as comfortable as possible.

Dot, bless her heart, was there not five seconds later.

“Cat... what’s going... By Lilith! Magnus?!” 

Dot immediately added her magic to Caterina’s and they tried to heal Magnus together.

“It’s not working! He is not waking up!” Caterina cried.

Dot felt a bitter lump of disdain in her throat. _Where is Alec?! This would never have happened to Magnus on my watch. It seems like Alec is always upsetting him and is never there for him._ She thought of the time that she and Magnus mixed his favourite heartbreak drink when Alec had asked him for a DNA sample for the Clave.

Dot lifted her one hand, the healing energy from that palm that was being transported into Magnus suddenly ceased.

She used her free hand to dial Clary. She told Clary that Magnus was seriously ill and that she needed to let Alec know. She didn’t elaborate, she didn’t have the time nor did she have a clue what was actually wrong with Magnus, but the fear and desperation in Dot’s voice was enough to send Clary racing through the institute to Alec’s office.

Throughout this drama, Magnus himself did not stir. He was trapped in the spell woven by Katerina all those centuries ago...

* * *

Jace was in the training room, feeling the familiar burn in every muscle in his body. It was both painful and calming when he could block out the rest of the world and focus on his training. He thought of Clary and he smiled. As he swung his sword he wondered whether it was possible to be this happy. Clary had turned his life around. She was his everything now.

Jace was yanked out of his blissful oblivion when his heart seemed to drop to his knees and his Parabatai rune burned with a vengeance. He fell to the floor with an ungraceful thump.

_Alec... Alec! Alec was in pain... In unspeakable pain..._

* * *

Alec grabbed Clary on her shoulders in a panic.

“What’s going on?! What’s wrong with Magnus?!”

In his desperation, he hadn’t realised that he had been shaking Clary a little too roughly. When he realised, he quickly released the poor girl with a quick ‘sorry’.

He didn’t wait to hear anything further as he activated his speed rune and raced straight to his boyfriend’s loft.

___________________________________________________________________________

Jace and Izzy burst into Alec’s office. The minute Jace felt Alec’s pain he had screamed for Izzy who was within earshot when they were together in the training room. As soon as Izzy saw Jace clutching his Parabatai rune she had wasted no time in helping Jace to his feet before the two of them had taken off towards Alec’s office frantically.

They burst into the office and found Clary getting ready to jump into an open portal that she had created using a rune she created.

“Clary!” Jace called for her over the hum of the portal and held her by her shoulder to stop her from taking off into the portal with him and Izzy.

Clary launched herself into Jace’s arms.

“Where’s Alec?” Jace asked worriedly. He could feel Alec barely hanging on.

“It’s Magnus... Jace... He is hurt or something. Dot called me so I came to get Alec. This portal leads to Magnus’. We can’t waste time, Alec is already almost there and Magnus needs us!”

Izzy and Jace said nothing further... All three of them dived straight into the portal. Magnus was one of them and they were going to do whatever it took to help him.

* * *

Alec would never forget the horror he felt when he portalled straight into his and Magnus’ bedroom for as long as he lived.

There lay his precious Warlock, completely depleted. He wore nothing but sweatpants and a wife beater, which normally clung enticingly to his gorgeous abs and pecs but now hung limply over his thin frame. He was pale and seemed to sink into their sheets.

“Magnus!” Alec called desperately and tried to race to his side.

He was stopped abruptly by an invisible barrier. A ward.

“Dot! Caterina! Let us in!” Alec called to them. He desperately needed to get to Magnus.

Caterina looked up in surprise.

“Dot did you put up wards? Let them in!”

Clary, Jace and Izzy realised belatedly that they had portalled directly into Magnus’ loft and had felt no resistance from his wards. They beat against the invisible barrier which would not let up.

“Magnus’ magic is not working, which means that his wards are down and he is vulnerable. I am just trying to protect him” Said Dot haughtily as the light streaming from her palms seemed to glow more intently as her emotions rose.

“From his own friends? From his boyfriend?!” Asked Caterina angrily. She dropped the focus of her one palm from Magnus and was about to say a spell to drop the wards to let the young Shadowhunters in but Dot grabbed her hand defiantly.

“His boyfriend is the reason he is like this! How can you not see Caterina? You aren’t the one who picks up the pieces whenever Alec hurts him. You don’t see his heart break. It’s not your fault, you have Madzie. Just as Magnus entrusted Madzie to you, you entrusted your best friend to Alec Lightwood and he has done nothing but hurt him! Magnus looks like he has been wasting away for weeks and judging by the shocked expressions on their faces, they are only noticing now!”

Jace, Izzy and Clary looked down in silent shame. Dot was not wrong. They had known that Alec had been busy at the Institute and they honestly hadn’t thought to check in on Magnus.

Alec swayed on the spot. The guilt seemed to be pressing his chest into his spine. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t rationalise the fact that he had not noticed Magnus ebbing away before him. He was in shock. He could not see Magnus like this. He needed for him to be all right. He could not live without his Warlock.

“He called you Alec. He kept calling out for you. I called you from his cell over and over again and you didn’t even check.” Caterina began to cry silently.

Alec’s eyes burned. He could feel the tears coming but he did not even make an effort to hide them.

“We trusted you with him.” Dot piled on. “You guys all have each other, Alec, you have your Parabatai. Magnus is one of ours. He had told me that he was happy and that he was in love with you so I decided to step aside and we trusted you guys with him. Now look at him. Clary your mother had entrusted you to me and I had never, in your entire life let anything happen to you. How could you guys let this happen to him?” Dot was livid. She turned back to Magnus as she healed him because she could not bear to look at the Shadowhunters.

“Alec what if it were Jace? Would you have let it get his far?”

“Dot please...” Alec whispered. “Please let me in, I promise I will do anything I can to fix this. I would trade my life to...”

He never got to finish.

“Stop!” Dot screamed all of a sudden, stunning everyone in the room.

“Cat stop the healing... I need to check something.”

The whole room seemed to go dark with the blinds drawn and the healing magic from the two Warlocks fading away.

Dot slipped into the bed next to Magnus and placed her palm gently on his chest. It was such a personal gesture, so intimate. It was something she had done time and time again whenever they made love lifetimes ago. He felt like home to her. Alec could feel the bile rising in his throat. It should be him at Magnus’ side. He should be the one tending to him but without magic, Alec was less than useless. By the Angel this all might even be his fault! He thought about the last time he had seen Magnus, his broken eyes, his small voice, his begging. Magnus had needed him more than Alec had thought and Alec had rejected him. If anything happened to Magnus today, he would not suffer alone, Alec refused to live a single day in this world without him.

Dot started fidgeting with the necklaces around Magnus’ neck. There were multitudes of them, each one more intricate and beautiful than the last. There were patterned links and symbolic pendants. Then she came across a pendant, bold and glorious, an eye-catching lapis lazuli. She yanked the pendant roughly from his neck, jerking his unconscious body forward before it fell limply into the sheets. The moonstone fell out of Magnus' pocket onto the sheets.

Dot gritted her teeth in uncontrolled anger.

“Dot? What is it?” Asked Caterina nervously, giving voice to everyone’s terrified thoughts.

Dot did not answer. She lifted her palm to Magnus’ head and a soft yellow light began emitting from her hand to his forehead. His eyes began to flutter beneath him lids and slowly, he began to toss and turn. Magnus was now just below the surface, just under the wave of consciousness. His chest began to heave gently as his breathing began to stabilise but as Dot used her magic to gain access into his subconscious the more her anger seemed to boil over.

She suddenly yanked her hand away from Magnus’ forehead, the light stopped suddenly and in a moment of uncontrolled anger she flung the lapis lazuli necklace angrily across the room. It hit the wards she erected and fell loosely onto the carpet, seemingly unscathed despite her anger.

“That unimaginable bitch!” Dot screamed. Her magic began to crackle menacingly in her twitchy and clenched fingers.

“Who are you talking about?” Clary asked. “Dot please, tell us what’s happening to Magnus.”

“She’s alive... She’s alive” Dot began mumbling to herself incoherently. Her anger seemed to electrify the air around her.

“Who are you talking about Dot?” Alec tried this time. If Magnus was in danger he would move heaven, earth and hell to ensure that he would be safe again.

“Katerina!” Dot screamed. The others turned to Caterina in confusion. Katerina and Catarina may have been spelled differently but they sounded the same when spoken in an anglicised voice.

“No, not Catarina” Clarified Dot... “Katerina...” She enunciated the syllables so that they could hear the true Slavic pronunciation of the name.

“Her name is Katerina Petrova, or Katherine Pierce to some. She is Tatia's doppelgänger.”

“_The _doppelgänger?” asked Caterina, barely able to mask her shock.

“Who is she?” Asked Jace, his hands instinctively reached for his stele and blade. Jace was ever the warrior.

Dot looked up at them, her anger quickly dissipated and the expression that crossed her features had everyone else in the room frozen in place.

Dot’s eyes betrayed pain, and fear... Pure, undulated fear.

She turned to the unconscious Magnus and an her hand gently through his soft hair. A small smile played on her lips at the contact.

Alec’s palms twitched. His heart seemed to rev in his chest as Dot caressed _his_ boyfriend.

She looked up then, straight at Alec. Her eyes were unblinking, unwavering.

Her eyes seemed to pierce through his armour, through his guilt, through his very soul but her next words would completely break him.

“Who is she? Katerina Petrova is the one person in this world capable of taking Magnus away from us forever.”

* * *

The silence that permeated the loft was ear-piercing. Everyone in the room had breathed a collective sigh of relief once they knew that Magnus was going to be all right, but the ghost of Katerina Petrova seemed to have sealed everyone’s lips. None of them knew her, apart from Dot, but it seemed as if she had invaded a sacred place amongst them, that she had invaded a sacred person amongst them.

Alec kept going through the past few weeks in his mind on a constant torturous loop. He never knew that he could hate himself as much until he realised that the only time he had ever noticed Magnus becoming so weak was the faint light his magic had emitted when he had tried to close the blinds before their last fight. In his bid to be the perfect Shadowhunter, he had turned into the world’s worst lover. He hung his head. He no longer fought against Dot’s wards to get to Magnus, he didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as his Warlock, forget sitting vigil by his bedside.

Jace, never one to sit still, began pacing nervously, his eyes never leaving Magnus. Magnus was no longer just his Parabatai’s lover, Magnus was home, Magnus was family.

Clary looked at Dot with her heart in her eyes. Dot seemed to have calmed down and even her face softened as she looked at Clary. The truth was, Dot blamed herself as much as the young Shadowhunters. She had loved Magnus for centuries and she had not been there when he needed her. She had to get away from him and Alec. She could barely stand to see them together and happy. Magnus was so different around Alec, it made her sick to see Alec being the one to make Magnus so happy and now, she had Katherine to deal with. Katherine was definitely a problem, no one ‘dealt’ with Katherine Pierce, she came, she saw and she destroyed and got whatever she wanted while she did it. Dot could only pray that she could keep Magnus from her. Alec was one thing in terms of competition, he was temporary, mortal. Katherine was eternal and she was capable of sinking her claws into Magnus faster than any of them could blink. Something had to be done about her. Dot was worried, very worried.

Izzy placed her hand on Alec’s shoulder in silent comfort but Alec refused to accept her warmth, he did not deserve it. He wanted to suffer the way the man he loved was suffering.

Caterina bustled around mixing potions while talking to Madzie and her babysitter on the phone.

Suddenly, the sheets around Magnus began to shift. It was feather-light at first, barely noticeable but for the fact that he was surrounded by warriors who were trained to notice everything. Soon he began to writhe actively, his body felt like lead but he seemed to be caught in the throes of a nightmare.

His breathing became laboured and he began to toss and turn. If it were even possible, he turned even more pale.

He began mumbling incoherently in multiple languages. Even Dot and Caterina had a hard time keeping up, until he called for Alec. Even in his worst moments, trapped in Katherine’s thrall, he could feel the shadow of Alec’s presence. His love for Alec ensured that his heart never felt alone. His lips were sealed, his tears could not help him. There was nothing but pain and suffering for him in his love for a Shadowhunter and yet, Magnus could not stop himself from instinctively reaching out for him.

“Alec... Alexander...”

He called for Alec over and over again and Alec felt Magnus’ pleas like daggers through his chest. He had abandoned Magnus when he had needed him. He had fought with him, neglected him and rejected him, and yet poor Magnus still called for him, still wanted him. It was too much for Alec and he fell to his knees in despair. His Magnus was calling for him and he was so unfortunate he could not go to him despite being in the same room.

Dot heard Magnus calling out for the man he loved and she felt her heart constrict. She looked up to Alec with her heart in her eyes and suddenly dropped her wards. It killed her to see Magnus with Alec but she would do anything to see Magnus happy.

She felt her heart drop in her chest along with the wards.

“Make no mistake Alec; I am only doing this for Magnus. Go to him, he needs you.”

Alec was off his knees in a millisecond and he raced to Magnus’ side. He buried his head in the crook of Magnus’ head and cried silently, clutching onto Magnus like a lifeline.

Finally having his Warlock in his arms felt as if the world and the heavens themselves had collided, the surge of love physically shook his entire body and Alec tried to pass on as much of his love and his warmth into Magnus’ freezing, trembling body. He suddenly felt so breakable in Alec’s arms. Alec clung to Magnus, his tears wetting Magnus’ shoulders. He felt everyone gather around them. Two of them, Alec didn’t know or even care to know who, were clutching each of Magnus’ hands. Someone was draping a blanket over him. The others hovered but Alec barely registered them. He could only comprehend Magnus. His Magnus who had suffered alone, who was surrounded by darkness. He had to find a way to bring Magnus back to them.

He needed his Warlock to wake up. He could not live without Magnus. He wanted to be the sun that warmed his lover and the shade that sheltered him. He wanted to be wherever Magnus was, as his shadow, to comfort him whenever he felt lonely.

He wanted Magnus to wake up more than anything, he wanted to steal him away and take him somewhere else, a place where no one could separate them, where he could protect Magnus, help him heal and where Alec could spend the rest of his life devoted to his love and showing Magnus how devoted he was to him and how much he loved him.

“Wake up Magnus... Please” Alec whispered in a broken voice. He could taste the salt of his tears.

Alec began to pray, to any God or Angel or even Demon who would listen. He wanted to absorb all of Magnus’ pain and suffering. He wanted to take his pain away. Magnus didn’t deserve to suffer, Alec did. He thought about Magnus’ broken plea for Alec to choose him.

“I choose you Magnus... Please...” Alec began to tear up. He could barely keep himself together. “I will always choose you and I am so so sorry that I didn’t before... Please come back to me...” His broken sobs began to wrack his body as his parabatai and sister came and wrapped their arms around him in a feeble attempt at comfort. Alec clung helplessly to Magnus’ freezing hand, trying to infuse all his love, strength and warmth into the man he loved more than life itself.

“I’m here... I’m here Mags and I am never leaving your side again. Even if you hate me or you chase me away I don’t care, I will follow you to Edom and back for the rest of my life. You will never be rid of me. Please open those beautiful cat-eyes for me... Just once my love... Please. I swear by the Angel I will dedicate every moment of my life, every last breath to you... I just need you to wake up this once for me. Please don’t give in to the darkness. I know you’re afraid, I can’t imagine what you are seeing and enduring but I promise you aren’t alone. Your family is here with you... I am here with you and we aren’t going anywhere. Please love...”

Hearing Alec’s entreaties to Magnus felt like someone was pouring hot acid into her ears. Dot got up and left to check on some of the potions that were stewing in Magnus’ apothecary that Caterina had brewed for him.

“Dot!” she heard Clary called behind her as Clary followed her out of Magnus’ room.

Dot sighed and stopped in her tracks, allowing Clary to catch up to her. Dot turned to face the young Shadowhunter who she had practically raised from childhood. The guilt began to eat away at Dot as she thought about her earlier outburst.

Clary said nothing for a moment. She simply stared into the brimming eyes of the woman who was not only one of her best friends but a mother-figure to her.

“I’m sorry Clary... I shouldn’t have blamed you or your friends. It’s no one’s fault. I was just worried about Magnus.” Dot started to apologise. She almost flinched as she waited for a tongue-lashing from Clary and she closed her eyes in anticipation but the Clary said nothing, she barely even breathed. Several second passed and when Dot heard nothing, she opened her eyes tentatively to stare at Clary.

There was not a trace of anger or resentment on Clary’s face. She looked almost... concerned, sympathetic. Dot burned like an ant under a microscope as Clary’s emerald eyes scrutinised her.

“Clary say something... Please...” Dot whispered. She could feel her eyes heat up with tear and her throat began to tighten. She didn’t want to break now; she couldn’t, certainly not in front of Clary.

Clary’s next words however, would be Dot’s undoing.

“How long Dot?”

Dot expelled a breath that she had no idea that she was holding. _Clary just wants to know how long I’ve known Magnus for..._ she thought.

“Five hundred years” she said simply.

Clary however, seemed unsatisfied.

“No Dot... How long have you loved him?”

Dot’s chest tightened and her blood froze. There was really no point denying it. Her feelings for Magnus were her one truth in her eternity.

“Five hundred years” she repeated. It was the same answer really. She had loved Magnus the minute she had climbed into bed with him and Katherine. At first she was just a stranger that they had picked up and invited into their bed to spice up their hedonistic relationship but she and Magnus had become fond of each other and even friends in the process, which was generally a big mistake in a no-strings relationship. Dot couldn’t help it. Was it even possible to know Magnus so intimately and not fall in love with him?

Clary had asked the question, but she honestly was not expecting that answer from Dot. Come to think of it, in all her life, she had never seen Dot with someone or in a relationship. But Dot’s feelings were none of her business; right now all they had to focus on was getting Magnus better. Dot’s love for Magnus was not her concern.

Unbeknownst to the two women, the person whose concern it actually was had heard everything and when Alec heard Dot admit to having feelings for centuries for the man that he loved, Alec stopped breathing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was the second chapter! Sorry for any mistakes, it’s late here and I am not up for editing. I will edit soon and if I make any major changes I will let you guys know. Sorry about that. Just been a little hectic because of work and NaNoWriMo :)
> 
> I would really appreciate your kudos and comments and I really hope you guys are enjoying it so far :)
> 
> Next up: Magnus wakes up (I hope – Still deciding), the Mystic Falls gang tries to get the moonstone from Katherine and Klaus needs to weigh his options in the Game considering that he is yet to meet Davina and wade through the issues between the vampires and witches in New Orleans.
> 
> Don’t worry... Paths will cross... Eventually lol. Just that it’s tough managing all three shows in one story and I want to make sure I do justice to all 3 shows and their characters:)  
Thank you for reading!
> 
> Az

**Author's Note:**

> Well? What do you guys think? I had to add in the flashbacks... I needed to incorporate our favourite bad boy Niklaus but also, I wanted an explanation as to how Katherine had adapted to England so easily after being kicked out of Bulgaria... I mean who else could teach her about fashion and the social construct other than our beloved Magnus?
> 
> So in a Game where everyone has hidden motives and hidden strengths and motivations, who will be the victor?
> 
> Coming up... We get to see the other characters from the Vampire Diaries and we check in at the New York Institute :)   
Also... Lots of love to my Wanderimos and those of you who have already read, commented and left kudos. You are all appreciated.
> 
> Please send me some love and positive vibes! As I mentioned, I am going to write this story for NaNoWriMo and I really want to win:) 
> 
> Lotsa Love  
Az


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